A father was convicted guilty of torturing and killing his three-year-old stepdaughter, but the girl’s mother was absolved of the same crimes.
Kaydence Mills’ mother, Sinitta Tammy Dawita, and her fiancé, Tane Saul Desatge, were charged with murder and torture after the small girl’s body was discovered at the Chinchilla Weir, around 300 kilometres west of Brisbane, in March 2020.
The couple had pleaded not guilty, but Justice Sean Cooper found today in Toowoomba Supreme Court that Desatge tortured and murdered Kaydence in 2017.
He judged Dawita not guilty of murder or torture.
Kaydence had been subjected to increasing violence before her murder, with her stepfather routinely striking the three-year-old with a bamboo stick.
During the judge-alone trial, family members told Justice Cooper that the small girl developed more visible injuries, typically in a straight line, and was routinely forced to eat her own excrement.
Kaydence was last seen alive at her family’s home, lying on a crimson couch with her eyes closed and not moving, bruises on her head and face.
Desatge claimed he came home and discovered Kaydence had fallen down the steps, causing her injuries, but Dawita refused to let him contact an ambulance or transport her to the hospital.
However, Justice Cooper did not accept this. Instead, he discovered Desatge had beaten and hit Kaydence on the face and head with a bamboo stick, intending to cause significant pain or suffering, which resulted in her death.
Justice Cooper determined that Destage disliked Kaydence because of her biological father, and his actual sentiments were revealed during a police-intercepted phone call.
“I find that Mr Desatge felt a significant degree of animosity towards and this animosity influenced his feelings towards Kaydence and his treatment of her,” according to Justice Cooper.
Kaydence’s death was disguised by Desatge and Dawita, who wrapped her body in waste bags and initially buried her in their backyard outhouse before transporting her to Chinchilla Weir.
The couple subsequently disposed of Kaydence’s belongings and the bamboo stick, and they lied to family members about the little girl’s whereabouts, claiming she had gone to live with an aunt.
Desatge and Dawita had already pleaded guilty to two counts of tampering with a dead body.
Dawita was sentenced to 18 months in jail, and with the time already spent, she will be available for parole on September 23.
Desatge will be sentenced on Thursday.
