Parents who refused to seek medical help after their 2-year-old daughter was severely burned, learned their fate last week during a hearing at the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Australia.
ABC AU News reports that Maddilyn-Rose Ava Stokes passed away following second-degree burns from scalding water that left her in “excruciating pain.” She was taken to the Queensland Children’s Hospital in May 2017 with burns covering most of her body. She ultimately passed away from sepsis.
On Friday, the child’s father, Shane David Stokes, 33, pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm, torture, and manslaughter. Maddilyn’s mother, Nicole Betty Moore, 26, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and torture.
Stokes held the toddler under scalding hot water, according to court documents, burning her backside, legs, buttocks, and groin. The couple failed to get medical help until five days later, when first responders discovered the child unconscious at her home in Northgate, Brisbane.
“She would have been in great misery and pain over that period of time, unable to walk,” Crown prosecutor Sarah Farnden said during Friday’s court hearing.
