A little 2-year-old girl faced an unthinkable trauma for something many children her age are prone two. Maddilyn-Rose Stokes and like every other child in a diaper needed a nappy change. But instead of tending to her need and changing her into a fresh diaper, the little girl paid with her life for a soiled diaper.
Maddilyn-Rose’s parents, Shane and Nicole thought she deserved to be punished for soiling her diaper, and so, the father held her under boiling water, reports Daily Mail. The water was so hot that it scalded the little girl’s back and the skin between her legs. In the incident had occurred on May 20, 2017, the court was told that the toddler would have screamed in agony as she was being tortured by her own parents.
Shane David Stokes, 33, and Nicole Betty Moore, 26 pleaded guilty to torturing their daughter and for failing to seek medical aid. The two were recently sentenced for the unthinkable crime.
Life, without parole, should have been the sentence for these two bits of garbage.
Parents jailed for torture and manslaughter of toddler daughter Maddilyn-Rose Ava Stokes https://t.co/skU4VV209l
— Incredulous (@NoGodDamnYou) February 22, 2021
Stokes admitted to inflicting the injuries that developed into third-degree burns on his daughter because it was left untreated. Instead of taking their injured baby to the hospital, the couple searched on the internet for home remedies and used aloe vera gel and bandages to treat their severely burnt toddler. Five days later, Maddilyn-Rose was found unconscious by paramedics at her family’s Northgate townhouse. She was rushed to a hospital nearby, but it was too late by then.
Officials who went to the house found bloodied bandages, toilet paper and mattresses throughout the place, showing just how extensive her injuries were. “She would have been in misery and pain, unable to walk,” prosecutor Sarah Farnden told the court. “She would have been dehydrated and weak before becoming delirious and falling unconscious before going into cardiac arrest.”
In fact, she would have been crying due to the pain, and the father reportedly gave her an anti-depressant he was prescribed to “quieten or tranquilise” the girl before she died, revealed a blood analysis.
Charges over death of Northgate, toddler Maddilyn-Rose Stokes may not be laid for weeks. https://t.co/jNInvxZivY #7News pic.twitter.com/AvrpjKgz3E
— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) May 27, 2017
Stokes and Moore are said to have hidden their daughter’s injuries for five days, fearing Department of Child Safety, especially since Maddilyn-Rose was treated for severe malnutrition as a baby. If only they’d sought immediate medical aid, the toddler would have survived.
Defence barrister Eoin Mac Giolla Ri said that the toddler’s death can only be classified as a case of parents “doing their incompetent best.”
Moore’s lawyers, however, claimed that the mother did not cause the child’s injuries, and even wanted to call the ambulance. She was also under the delusion that her child would just get better. “It was not done by malice or lack of caring; she was scared the child would be taken from her,” the court heard.
It was also revealed that the couple remained unmoved when details of their daughter’s grave injuries were read out in court.
Justice David Jackson said the toddler’s death was “dreadful and beyond tragic” during the sentencing. “Your concerns were for yourselves, at your daughter’s expense – it cost your daughter’s life. The greatest tragedy is that had you taken her promptly to hospital, called triple zero, her life would have been saved and she would have received proper pain relief. She would not have had to endure almost five days of excruciating pain suffered by the victim of untreated and serious burns – you both bear full responsibility.”
Maddilyn-Rose Ava Stokes 'parents', SHANE STOKES & NICOLE MOORE are to be charged with their daughter's torture & death. #auspol pic.twitter.com/MuSWu7j4Tz
— Shame of Australia (@ShameAustralia) June 5, 2017
Stokes has been sentenced to jail for 11 years and Moore for nine years and six months.
Representational Cover Image Source: Getty Images/Jill Tindall
