Murray Bridge parents Brodie Tull and Starr Light Cahill jailed after twin boys found with horrific rib fractures
Two Murray Bridge parents have been locked up for years and accused of being deluded that they did nothing wrong after their twin boys were found with horrific injuries.
A couple have been slammed for their “deluded” state of mind that they did nothing wrong after their twin boys were found with horrific rib fractures.
Starr Light Cahill, 29, and Brodie Tull, 25, were both jailed for several years after a judge rejected their explanations “in full”.
During sentencing on Wednesday, Judge Ian White told the District Court that one of the twins was at “real risk” of losing his life and was only saved due to the prompt actions and care of medical staff.
Michael Foundas, prosecuting, told the court in the trial opening that the couple’s twin boys were born on March 8, 2022.
One of the twins presented at the Murray Bridge hospital on May 29, 2022.
An examination by an expert forensic pediatrician revealed the boy had 33 recent rib fractures, signs of 18 older rib fractures, a laceration to his liver, bruising and an older leg fracture.
“On the prosecution case, (the boy) had been the victim of at least one recent and one older occasion of deliberate inflictions of force, particularly to his chest,” Mr Foundas said.
The court heard a medical examination found the other twin had 13 recent rib fractures and signs of 24 older rib fractures.
The couple claimed to police either their dog, by sitting on twins’ chest, or Ms Cahill’s daughter mishandling the babies is what caused the injuries.
However, Judge White said the medical evidence presented at trial meant he rejected those explanations “in full”.
The couple were found guilty by a jury of two counts of criminal neglect.
A walkthrough video of the couple’s house released to The Advertiser shows it in disarray, with messy piles everywhere and rubbish on the floor.
The children’s bedrooms are dirty, with their beds piled with clothing and one mattress stained with no sheets.
The court heard Cahill, who expressed a wish to have her tubes tied as she doesn’t want any more children, was no longer together with Tull.
The court heard Tull was “heartbroken” about losing his boys, who now suffer from global development delays.
“You maintain your innocence but nevertheless blame yourself for the state of health of your boys once it was discovered,” Judge White said.
Tull was sentenced to seven years’ jail, with a non-parole period of four years and six months.
Due to Cahill’s lower intellectual capacity, she was sentenced to six years’ jail, with a non-parole period of three years and nine months.
Judge White said as the couple refused to reveal what happened to the “defenceless” boys, he couldn’t say beyond reasonable doubt which one inflicted the injuries.
“In the end only you two know what happened about that harm,” he said.
“I have a hope that you both reflect upon what has happened and move away from your current deluded state of minds that you both did nothing wrong in the care of your sons.”
Their sentences were backdated to May 7.
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Originally published as Murray Bridge parents Brodie Tull and Starr Light Cahill jailed after twin boys found with horrific rib fractures
