Duty of Care Unveiled: Investigating the Tragic Kiesha Weippeart Case
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00:00 [Music]
00:24 1st August 2010, a triple zero call was made from Mount Druitt in Western Sydney.
00:32 A little girl was missing.
00:35 Her mother had tucked her into bed the night before and by the next morning she had vanished.
00:44 [Music]
00:52 Hi, I've just gotten up and I went to the toilet and I realised that my front door was open and my daughter's not here.
00:59 Just get the police on their way out there, ok?
01:02 How old is your daughter?
01:03 She's six.
01:04 She's six?
01:05 Yes.
01:06 Have you checked all the units?
01:08 No, I've just gotten up.
01:11 Ok, what's your name?
01:14 Christy, I'm her mum.
01:16 Ok, Christy, what's your last name?
01:18 Abraham.
01:19 What's your daughter's name?
01:20 Christy.
01:21 What is it?
01:22 Kiesha.
01:23 Spell it.
01:24 K-I-E-S-H-A.
01:27 Yep, ok.
01:28 So as far as you know she would be in her pyjamas or you don't know?
01:32 Yes, she's in her pyjamas.
01:35 Ok, so what time would you have last seen her?
01:41 Last night?
01:42 I put her to bed at about thirty quarts of ten.
01:44 And do you have any other family that live in the unit block?
01:48 No.
01:49 Any neighbours that she would talk to?
01:51 No.
01:52 I've just let the police know, we've got police, we've got everybody on their way out to see you, ok?
01:57 No.
01:58 And she's never done this?
02:00 No, like she gets up and plays like in the middle of the night, she looks out of a corner of her window before we let her in, but I don't know.
02:10 Yeah.
02:11 Ok.
02:15 And is it just the two of you that live there?
02:18 I've got a two year old and a three week old baby.
02:22 And are they still there?
02:23 Yeah, they're still here.
02:25 They're still there?
02:26 Yes, and the kids' father, he's here as well.
02:30 He's there as well?
02:31 He's out looking for her.
02:32 Ok.
02:33 Now Christy, we have got everybody on their way out there.
02:39 Yeah.
02:40 So he's out yelling the streets for her?
02:46 Yeah, he's gone looking for her.
02:48 What's his name?
02:49 Robert.
02:50 Robert?
02:51 Yeah, Robert.
02:52 Robert who?
02:53 Smith.
02:54 And you've looked in all the cupboards?
02:56 Yeah, he's not here.
02:59 I've looked everywhere.
03:02 The caller was Christy Abrahams, the mother of the missing child, Kiesha.
03:14 As police descended on the scene, they knew they had to act fast,
03:19 as the first few hours of a child being reported missing are critical.
03:23 They needed to speak to as many people as possible
03:27 to put together a timeline of Kiesha's last known movements
03:31 and try and narrow down leads as quickly as possible.
03:34 Christy was no longer with Kiesha's biological father, Chris Whippet,
03:40 so officers headed over to speak to him.
03:43 At around 10.45 that morning they talked with Chris,
03:46 who said he had been at home with his mother before heading out to get a tattoo.
03:50 Christy's best friend and neighbour Alison Anderson was desperate to help,
03:55 and so she asked Christy if she had any suspects in mind.
03:59 Alison would later say, "She said of Whippet, the effing so-and-so,
04:05 he had rode past the unit a week or so ago and did a gun sign with his fingers to Rob,
04:10 who was hanging up the washing.
04:12 She told Christy she needed to tell this to the police, but Christy wouldn't."
04:17 Rob was Christy's partner,
04:20 and she said that he had been out searching for her since they discovered she was missing.
04:24 To try and generate leads, and also find Kiesha if she had simply left the unit and wandered off,
04:30 a major search was conducted by police and volunteers.
04:34 They scoured bushland, parks and reserves,
04:38 hoping that it would lead them to the little girl.
04:41 The fast-moving operation continued to gain momentum,
04:45 and Strike Force Jarrison was formed.
04:48 The police discovered that Kiesha hadn't been to school,
04:51 or been seen by anyone else, since early July.
04:55 The officer in charge, Detective Inspector Russell Oxford,
04:59 said the last time she had been seen by immediate family was around the 7th of that month.
05:05 She had been reported missing on the 1st of August.
05:09 The three weeks in between were vital in putting together a timeline of events.
05:15 Two days after the call to emergency services was made,
05:22 Christy and Robert made appeals for any news of her whereabouts,
05:26 and for anyone with information to come forward.
05:30 Anyone, someone must know something, please come forward.
05:35 How have the last 48 hours been for you and Christy?
05:40 I can't describe how it's been. You don't know, you can see yourself in my shoes.
05:47 Just hope that she's found as soon as possible, is what we mean.
05:53 Safe and well.
05:56 How hard is it for you the longer this goes?
05:59 It gets harder by the minute.
06:01 She's always happy, bubbly, you know, love playing.
06:06 Just like any kid would.
06:09 Do you have any idea that anyone who you might know who may have taken Christy,
06:18 because the family obviously thought about, long and hard about this,
06:21 does anyone have any idea?
06:24 I have no idea. If I had any idea, mate, we'd be there looking.
06:28 The police have expressed hope, obviously everyone is hopeful,
06:31 and that's one thing you've got to hold on to.
06:34 Definitely.
06:36 Can I hear the phone?
06:39 Anyone who's seen her, can I please call the police?
06:44 We all love her and we all miss her, and if she can hear or see it,
06:50 get to a phone, or ring the police.
06:52 We want her to come back safely.
06:56 Do anything in your power to please come back home.
07:01 Those in the community were desperate to find Kaisha and bring her home.
07:09 Candlelit vigils were held and flowers and toys were laid out for the missing child.
07:20 On the 30th of August, it was reported that Kaisha's father, Chris,
07:25 was being questioned by the police.
07:28 He was adamant that although he had been paying child maintenance,
07:33 he hadn't seen Kaisha in years,
07:36 and had not had regular contact with her since he and Christy had separated.
07:40 He was adamant he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
07:45 Police said that they had received new information
07:48 that he had allegedly been seen near the Woodstock Avenue block
07:51 on the morning she went missing.
07:53 Chris had been in hospital for the previous three weeks
07:57 after complications from diabetes meant he had to have major foot surgery.
08:01 His mother Liz said, "I am furious."
08:05 She said that her son had not been kept up to date with the information about Kaisha's case.
08:10 "It has been 28 days. We have no idea what is going on.
08:15 The police tell us nothing, then they show up here saying this."
08:19 But there was something that was standing out to the police.
08:27 What had initially appeared as a desperate mother and stepfather
08:31 awaiting any news, soon began to raise eyebrows.
08:35 The behaviour of Christy and Robert stood out to many as unusual.
08:40 Neither of them had made any effort to join in the searches.
08:44 And despite the fact her daughter was missing,
08:47 life for Christy seemed to resume as normal.
08:51 She would go and get her hair and nails done and go shopping.
08:55 Her appearances in the media only aroused more suspicion.
08:59 "It just makes you sick in the stomach.
09:02 Chris died again."
09:06 The pair were adamant that they were innocent
09:11 and their friend and neighbour, Alison Anderson, became the spokeswoman for them
09:16 and would defend them against the rumours that had began to swirl.
09:19 Alison gave a statement on their behalf saying,
09:23 "The family wish to deny the recent allegations in the media.
09:27 The family encourage the public to come forward with any information
09:31 that may assist police to find Kaisha.
09:34 But please stop making baseless allegations.
09:37 The family wish to be left alone to deal with this situation.
09:41 You put yourself in their shoes.
09:43 You couldn't imagine.
09:45 And that's why this is the time when they need their friends and support and family."
09:50 There was soon more controversy surrounding Kaisha's case.
09:59 The mother of missing Sydney girl, Kaisha Abrahams,
10:04 has accused a flea market of cashing in on her daughter's name.
10:08 But the organisers have hit back, telling the mother what she should do.
10:12 The Kaisha flea markets have been drawing a crowd at the Hebersham shops
10:17 every Saturday for the past two months.
10:20 But the organiser, Albert Lafayelle, hasn't asked Kaisha's mother
10:23 or stepfather for permission to use her name.
10:26 They say it's in poor taste.
10:28 "I think he's twisted and he's sick in the head for using my daughter's name."
10:33 Albert Lafayelle has no time for their complaint
10:36 and is critical of them for not doing enough to find their six-year-old girl.
10:39 "Get off your ass and go look for your kid.
10:41 Because we are trying our best to try and find closure
10:46 and our community won't heal until we find some results on Kaisha."
10:50 Stallholders pay a small fee to sell their toys
10:53 and second-hand garage sale items for the morning.
10:56 So far they've raised $300,
10:58 money they say will pay for a Christmas Day fate with Jumping Castle.
11:02 But Christy Abrahams warns the market shut down,
11:05 concerned that a bank account and a trust have not been set up.
11:09 "I think it's a scam because it's a high-profile case.
11:12 It should be shut down until there is a trust fund in place."
11:15 But despite her mother's request that they no longer use Kaisha's name,
11:19 out of respect for her,
11:21 the organisers are vowing to run Kaisha's flea market
11:24 every Saturday until Christmas.
11:27 "He's saying that this is all for a reason
11:29 and it's all for awareness and Kaisha and it's for the kids.
11:32 But where's the money gone?"
11:34 "Where's the proof?"
11:36 As the investigation continued to be carried out,
11:40 Rob and Christy moved into a local motel.
11:43 Alison agreed to help them move to their new property in Kings Langley.
11:47 When they went into the unit,
11:49 one of Kaisha's jumpers was lying on the floor.
11:53 Christy said that the police had told her
11:56 that there would be nothing belonging to Kaisha there
11:59 before she kicked the jumper away and began swearing.
12:03 When Alison went into Kaisha's room,
12:06 there was nothing there.
12:08 No possessions or toys.
12:11 A forensics team descended on the unit they had lived in with Kaisha.
12:16 Something disturbing was revealed.
12:19 Blood belonging to the missing child was found in every room.
12:25 Christy Abrahams was brought in for an interview.
12:29 "Would there be any reason why there'd be more blood,
12:34 not just in her unit, but throughout the unit?"
12:37 "What are you trying to say?"
12:41 "I'm just saying that when we forensically examined the unit,
12:44 there's an amount of Kaisha's blood throughout the unit.
12:47 And I'm just trying to ask you how that would have got there."
12:53 "I don't know."
12:55 "You're talking about the park around your woodstock?"
12:59 "Yes, right next door."
13:01 "OK, so for Robert to end up in Westfield at Mount Druitt,
13:05 is that unusual?"
13:07 "What do you mean?"
13:09 "Well, Robert, when he's left your unit,
13:11 he's gone into Westfield, all the way to Westfield,
13:13 and looked inside Westfield."
13:14 "But he's looked all the way where we walked down to Westfield."
13:17 "Yeah, but you don't take him to the shops."
13:19 "I do."
13:20 "I've been through a whole week of her life,
13:22 and she hasn't left the unit."
13:23 "So what are you trying to say?"
13:25 "What I'm trying to say is,
13:26 why did he end up down in Mount Druitt shopping centre?"
13:28 "But he looked all around to go to Mount Druitt."
13:31 "Yeah, but what I'm saying is,
13:32 if you don't take her shopping, why would she go there?
13:35 She's never been there, has she?"
13:36 "She has.
13:37 Maybe not the week that you're talking about.
13:40 You know what, this is over, seriously,
13:41 because what are you trying to get at?"
13:43 "All right, I'll move on.
13:44 All I'm saying is,
13:45 I'm saying that Robert, why did he go to Westfield?
13:47 That's all I'm asking.
13:48 It's a simple question."
13:49 "So have a look.
13:50 You would have seen, you would have got the CT."
13:51 "No, it's a long way from where you are."
13:53 "We're just trying to get to the bottom of this.
13:55 You're very angry with us."
13:57 "Yeah, well..."
13:58 "We're going to get to the bottom of what's happened to her."
14:00 "Yeah, I hope you do, because, mate, I need to know."
14:03 "I think everybody needs to know."
14:05 "So what are you trying to say,
14:06 that we did something to her?"
14:08 "I didn't say that."
14:09 Over the following weeks and months,
14:13 the community continued to hold onto the hope
14:15 that she was still alive.
14:17 But this would soon come crashing down.
14:21 April 22nd, 2011.
14:29 A huge announcement was made.
14:35 Two people had been taken into custody
14:38 on suspicion of the murder of Kaisha.
14:41 None other than Christy Abrahams and Robert Smith.
14:47 This arrest was the culmination of months
14:50 of an intricate and complex undercover operation.
14:53 An undercover officer would get close to Christy
14:56 in the hope she would reveal what had happened to Kaisha.
15:00 At a motel, the undercover officer met with her
15:05 and, in order to win Christy's trust,
15:08 the officer told her he needed to know the truth
15:11 and that he could help her move the body.
15:15 Christy Abrahams would finally confess.
15:19 "Base of the bed, there's a bit of timber,
15:21 and she's hit her head on that, hasn't she?"
15:23 "Yes."
15:24 "OK, and that's when you say that you did what?
15:28 You took her in the shower then?"
15:29 "Yes, I was trying to wake her up.
15:31 I got the cold water on her, trying to wake her up,
15:33 and she wouldn't..."
15:35 "The suitcase there, I need to know..."
15:37 "He buried it, he dug a hole, and then...
15:41 then we went there, and he put her in there."
15:45 "Who was carrying Kaisha?"
15:47 "She was carrying a suitcase."
15:49 "Right."
15:50 "And then she just started making weird noises before it would go away,
15:54 and when it did, and then in the morning, she wouldn't go away."
15:59 She said that Kaisha had been refusing to put her pyjamas on,
16:07 and, in response, Christy gave her what she called a 'nudge with her foot'.
16:14 This resulted in Kaisha falling and hitting her head against the bed.
16:18 She said Kaisha's body was like jelly,
16:22 but said that she did respond when Christy had asked her to squeeze her finger.
16:27 She said,
16:29 "And then she went funny, and then I put her in the shower,
16:33 to try and wake her up.
16:35 She just started making weird noises.
16:38 We thought it would go away, we really did."
16:43 She stated that when she had checked on her the next morning,
16:46 she wasn't breathing, but she didn't get her medical help.
16:50 When describing how they had disposed of her body, she said,
16:54 "He put petrol on her, and branches on her."
16:57 Smith and Abrahams then took the undercover officer to the deposition site.
17:03 It was here that the search for Kaisha came to a devastating end.
17:09 Her little body was found in bushland, near Shelby, in Sydney's west.
17:14 At 1.12am, Abrahams and Smith were both arrested in a laneway near their home.
17:22 They were then charged.
17:25 "I'm watching. I'm watching."
17:37 It would have been Kaisha's seventh birthday.
17:40 "Today really has been a display of so much grief and anger,
17:51 particularly here at this unit complex,
17:53 which has become the focal point for so much of the community
17:55 since Kaisha disappeared nine months ago now.
17:59 Certainly tonight, as a large crowd gathers behind me
18:02 for what would have been a vigil to mark her seventh birthday,
18:06 that gathering is taking on a very different tone, a lot more serious.
18:10 And even though those remains that have been found in bushland,
18:13 not very far from here at all, are yet to be identified,
18:16 people already are starting to talk about planning for Kaisha's funeral."
18:20 Skeletal remains found scattered around the reserve, popular with trail bike riders.
18:26 An autopsy will be carried out on Monday
18:28 to determine whether the remains are those of Kaisha,
18:31 who would have turned seven today.
18:33 Smith's father says he understands people's anger,
18:36 but wants to hear the evidence at court before making up his mind.
18:40 "You've got to believe that your own son couldn't have a part in this.
18:43 So, yeah, that's what I want to believe."
18:45 Jim Taupau was like a step-grandfather to Kaisha and played with her often.
18:50 "I miss her so much."
18:52 "It's been a very arduous and very long investigation,
18:56 and something that I'm proud of the efforts of the police that worked on this case.
19:00 And we had tremendous community support all along the way,
19:04 and I think it was simply the case that we never wanted to give up on this matter."
19:08 Today the couple chose not to appear on video link
19:10 as the matter was heard at Parramatta Local Court.
19:13 Their lawyer told the court they were too distraught.
19:15 "So, as you said, a public outpouring of emotion,
19:18 obviously started this morning, and I know that it'll continue."
19:21 "I'm hurting, I'm angry, I just want to cry. It's Kaisha's birthday."
19:27 Tonight the thoughts of friends and relatives of Kaisha Abrahams
19:30 are firmly with the little girl as they once again hold vigil.
19:34 Adrian Richella, ABC News, Sydney.
19:36 For those officers who had been watching the couple for months,
19:42 it was a bitter end to a tragic case.
19:45 A candlelit vigil had been planned for Kaisha's birthday,
19:52 and hundreds turned up to pay their respects.
19:55 Many voicing their anger and disgust at how things had panned out.
20:00 One card read, "Happy Birthday, Kaisha.
20:04 You deserved a better life here in your time on earth."
20:08 At two o'clock on Good Friday, police informed Kaisha's grandmother Liz
20:19 that Abrahams and Smith had been arrested.
20:22 This devastating news sent shockwaves throughout Kaisha's family
20:26 and the local community.
20:27 The little girl they had helped look for, prayed for,
20:31 and kept in their hearts, was gone.
20:34 A community gives up hope for little Kaisha.
20:40 "It just breaks my heart."
20:41 They'd been praying for her for so long.
20:43 An emotional community turned its anger on her mother and stepfather.
20:47 "Ride in hell! Ride in hell! Ride in hell!"
20:50 Family friends who once supported the couple felt their sympathy
20:53 had been abused and marched on Mount Druitt police station.
20:57 "What's in my heart is happiness for Kaisha, sadness,
21:01 and a lot of mixed emotions."
21:02 It was a more sombre group that gathered at the shrine outside the unit
21:06 where Kaisha went missing.
21:07 The overwhelming show of support for her continued
21:10 as they placed toys, balloons and lit candles.
21:14 The shrine has been in place since the little girl disappeared,
21:17 a sign the community hadn't given up hope.
21:19 "She's loved in so many different ways by people that she never ever knew."
21:24 Charged with murdering their six-year-old girl,
21:29 Kaisha's mother, Christy Abrahams, and stepfather Robert Smith
21:32 were taken to court this morning,
21:34 left in no doubt about the community's rage.
21:37 In September 2011, Kaisha's private funeral was held.
21:46 Before the funeral, Chris said,
21:49 "I want Kaisha to leave this earth knowing how much she was loved,
21:53 and I want her put to rest the way she deserves."
21:57 They also requested that mourners wear Kaisha's favourite colour, purple.
22:06 Abrahams and Smith had both put in requests to be able to attend the funeral,
22:11 but Chris said hell would freeze over before he would let that happen, adding,
22:16 "My family are the ones left to deal with all of this
22:19 and arrange the best send-off for Kaisha that she deserves,
22:22 and I'm telling you, they are not coming."
22:26 Their requests to attend were denied.
22:29 On 28th September 2011, a public memorial was held for Kaisha.
22:36 # Hallelujah... #
22:40 A choir of Kaisha's cousins and friends said goodbye.
22:45 It wouldn't be fair to say you're in a better place now
22:48 because you deserve to be here enjoying your childhood,
22:51 going into a woman and experiencing life.
22:54 I pray that none of you would have to endure the suffering
22:57 and the pain that we had to go through.
23:00 We never get over something like this.
23:03 Somehow, together, we learn to cope.
23:07 The girl's grandmother was at the church.
23:09 She didn't speak, relying instead on family and friends
23:12 to thank the public and police.
23:15 She can be never stolen from our memories.
23:17 She's been stolen from us, from Earth, but not from our memories or our hearts.
23:21 Father Edward Dooley says mourning for Kaisha Whippet has been huge
23:25 and it's time for healing in the family and the community.
23:29 Letitia Lemke, ABC News, Mount Druitt.
23:33 Many questions needed to be answered,
23:39 one of them being, how had this tragedy unfolded?
23:44 When the truth was revealed, it would leave people outraged.
23:49 Christy's early life had been marred by domestic violence.
23:56 She had both witnessed and been subjected to violence at the hands of her father.
24:02 Her mother had epilepsy, and when she was 10 years old,
24:06 she heard her mother having a seizure.
24:09 She was alone with her little brother, who was just 3 years old.
24:13 When she went to help her mother, she had tragically died from the seizure.
24:19 Her father didn't want custody of his children.
24:23 So, following this, she and her younger brother were put into foster care
24:29 and spent time in various group homes.
24:32 As a young teenager, she was examined by a psychologist,
24:36 who determined that due to an intellectual disability,
24:39 she needed to be with an appropriate family
24:42 who could provide her with the correct emotional support,
24:45 and by the age of 16, she was in a girls' refuge.
24:49 When she was 19 years old, she met Chris Whippert through his brother Matthew,
24:55 and a romantic relationship quickly formed.
24:58 Not long after, Christy was pregnant.
25:01 Soon into her pregnancy, Chris had found Christy punching her stomach
25:06 following an argument between the pair.
25:08 Things seemed to simmer down for a while, and the pregnancy continued.
25:12 On 6th February 2003, she gave birth to their son, Aidan.
25:17 Community services officers visited the house
25:20 and found nothing seemingly untoward with Aidan,
25:23 apart from Christy giving him one scoop of formula instead of two.
25:27 After another fight between the pair, the police were called.
25:32 Chris said, "I'm Aidan's dad. His mum's not coping, and she mixes her medication.
25:38 She threw my clothes and stereo off the balcony last night
25:41 and threw a lit candle at me while she had Aidan in her arms.
25:46 The wax went everywhere and nearly burnt him.
25:49 She's up all night with Aidan and has threatened to throw him off the balcony
25:52 if he doesn't shut up and let her sleep.
25:55 I don't know what to do."
25:57 Christy refused to open the door to the officer,
26:08 but after talking to a community services worker,
26:11 the officer believed that Aidan would be removed that night.
26:14 But this didn't happen.
26:16 Just six weeks later, tragedy would strike.
26:20 March 22nd 2003
26:26 Chris's mother Liz saw her son arriving at the house on his bike.
26:32 The news he had was horrifying.
26:35 He told her, "Aidan's blue and he's dead and he's cold.
26:40 Christy's up there screaming and screaming, Mum.
26:43 I found him and he was on his face."
26:46 Liz went straight to the unit and found Christy holding Aidan,
26:50 screaming that he was cold and to get another blanket.
26:54 He was taken to hospital, but there was nothing that could be done.
26:59 Little Aidan had died.
27:02 The post-mortem found no signs of abuse,
27:05 and his cause of death was unascertained.
27:09 April 2004
27:12 Just over one year later, Christy gave birth to their second child in April 2004.
27:21 A little girl, Kaisha.
27:24 The pair began arguing again.
27:28 She told Chris that it was over and he needed to leave, for good.
27:32 As he packed his things, Christy followed him and they carried on rowing.
27:37 Kaisha was just 15 months old at the time,
27:40 and started crawling towards the couple.
27:43 Chris said Christy stormed towards Kaisha and picked her up by the neck,
27:48 before carrying her through to the living room and dumping her on the sofa.
27:52 Kaisha began to crawl off again.
27:54 Christy responded by picking her up and biting her on the shoulder,
27:59 leaving Kaisha screaming in pain.
28:02 Chris immediately called the police.
28:06 Kaisha was taken to the hospital,
28:08 and Christy would be convicted and given a 12-month good behaviour bond.
28:13 Chris was originally given custody of Kaisha.
28:16 However, the Department of Community Services,
28:20 now the Department of Family and Community Services,
28:23 put Kaisha into foster care.
28:26 On 15 October 2006,
28:29 Christy was arrested for having outstanding warrants for driving without a licence.
28:35 Just two months later, and after taking part in anger management counselling,
28:40 Kaisha was returned to her.
28:43 A year later, Christy was pregnant again, with a second daughter.
28:49 During a hospital visit, a nurse saw a bruise on Kaisha's face and reported it.
28:55 A caseworker spoke with Kaisha the following day,
28:58 and Kaisha could not explain how it had happened.
29:01 There was also a cigarette burn on her body, and she said,
29:05 "Mum hit there. Mum did that."
29:08 But no further action was taken.
29:12 Kaisha lived in such a state of fear,
29:15 her mother raising her arm in conversation would cause her to flinch.
29:20 At this point, Christy was in a new relationship with a man called Robert Smith.
29:28 By June 2010, Christy was pregnant for a fourth time.
29:33 Christy called her father, someone at the centre of much of her unhappiness,
29:38 and asked him to take Kaisha.
29:41 She told him, "I'm sick of her. I will hurt her.
29:45 I really will hurt her. I will kill her."
29:49 Liz, Chris' mother, didn't even know Kaisha was back living with Christy
29:54 until the police arrived at her house saying the little girl was missing
29:58 and they needed to search the property.
30:01 Over the course of her life, several reports had been made
30:05 by family members and neighbours regarding injuries on Kaisha.
30:10 Education officials also made various trips to the home,
30:14 as Kaisha had only been to school four times in her whole life.
30:19 And, when she had gone, teachers had reported seeing bruises on her head and face.
30:26 Between January and July 2010,
30:29 Truant officers made seven trips to the home,
30:33 but each time, the door was locked and they got no answer.
30:38 They then informed Christy that they would be taking legal action against her
30:43 regarding Kaisha's school attendance.
30:47 Alison said the last time she had seen her was on July 11th at around 4.30 in the afternoon.
30:54 Kaisha was in the car and Christy was stood outside smoking.
30:59 Alison would later say, "Kaisha asked if she could hop out of the car.
31:04 Christy said, 'No, you effing can't. Shut up and sit in the car.'
31:10 That was the last time I heard or saw Kaisha."
31:16 As the initial investigation began, the behaviour of Abrahams and Smith stood out.
31:22 When looking back at the press appeals, Liz, Chris's mother, said,
31:28 "A lot of flashbacks come into your head.
31:31 I'd seen it before with Aidan. That's why I knew something was going on.
31:36 It wasn't tears when Kaisha was missing. I'd seen it before."
31:41 There was no inquest held into Aidan's death,
31:45 but after Kaisha was killed, a senior official said,
31:49 "There probably should have been one."
31:52 And following their arrests, Detective Inspector Russell Oxford said
31:56 they would consider reopening the investigation into Aidan's death.
32:00 Abrahams and Smith then went about attempting to destroy any evidence
32:07 they thought could link them to Kaisha's death.
32:10 They took things out of the property and threw away shoes and clothes,
32:15 along with the SIM cards from their phones.
32:18 In order to maintain the image that Kaisha was loved and cared for,
32:23 and that they hoped she was still alive,
32:26 they went out and brought children's toys and a Tinkerbell poster for when she came home.
32:35 Forensic pathologist Dr Matthew Ord had carried out the examination of Kaisha's remains.
32:40 She had fractures to her teeth and ten different injuries to her body and head.
32:46 Her jawbone had been broken in two places.
32:50 Dr Ord said, "These types of injuries are mainly found in children
32:55 who have suffered severe, prolonged physical abuse,"
33:00 adding they would have left her in "considerable pain."
33:04 Following her death, her mother and stepfather kept her little body in a suitcase.
33:10 After several days, they burned her body and buried her in a shallow grave.
33:17 They threw away the hammer used to dig the grave
33:21 and also burned the suitcase her body had been kept in.
33:25 After this, they got a taxi home.
33:31 In late November 2012, more tragedy would strike.
33:37 Chris, Kaisha's father, passed away suddenly.
33:44 He was found by his mother and he had been suffering from various health issues,
33:49 including diabetes, and had also been battling substance abuse.
33:55 He went to bed and then didn't wake up.
34:00 [Music]
34:04 Before court proceedings began, Alison Anderson went to see Abrahams in prison.
34:10 She asked her former friend why she had lied throughout the investigation
34:15 and left people wondering for months where Kaisha was.
34:19 The first thing for Christy to say to her former friend was,
34:22 "Have you seen Robbs? What are you doing here?"
34:25 Alison asked why Christy had used her and lied to her,
34:30 and why if she was struggling to cope,
34:33 she hadn't given Kaisha to a family member or her to look after.
34:38 Alison then shouted at her, "You rot in jail. You filthy pig kid killer."
34:45 She then took her shirt off to reveal a purple shirt with "A Voice for Kaisha" written on it,
34:52 something she would later wear throughout the trial.
34:55 Alison said the only response from Abrahams was, "Use rot in hell."
35:00 Abrahams also blew a kiss at her.
35:04 The prison guards had to pull Alison away,
35:07 and she was subsequently banned from going back to the prison for life.
35:11 She decided against visiting Robert Smith,
35:14 saying it wouldn't achieve anything or give people the answers they needed.
35:20 July 18th, 2013
35:25 As the police van pulled up at the Sydney Supreme Court,
35:32 there were angry reactions from members of the public,
35:35 with people chasing the van and shouting.
35:38 The courtroom was packed.
35:41 Abrahams turned her back on the public gallery
35:44 and looked only in the direction of the judge.
35:47 On the first day of her trial,
35:50 Christy Abrahams entered a plea of guilty
35:54 to the murder of her daughter after the Crown had previously rejected her plea of manslaughter.
35:59 What we heard was startling.
36:04 Abrahams admitted she'd given Kaisha a little nudge,
36:07 then put her in the shower to wake her up, but without success, put her to bed.
36:12 The next morning, Kaisha was dead.
36:15 But dental expert Alan Middleton disputes that version,
36:18 telling the court the fractures to Kaisha's teeth were caused by much more than a little nudge.
36:24 In fact, he believes Kaisha was hit four to five times,
36:27 with forces from multiple directions,
36:30 which left the six-year-old with fractures equivalent to an adult sporting injury.
36:35 Inside the court, as Christy Abrahams stood and said the word 'guilty',
36:40 she was emotionless.
36:42 Then, after the judge left the room, there was an eerie silence
36:46 as everyone just stood watching as Christy Abrahams was led down to the cells.
36:51 Christy Abrahams was sentenced to serve at least 16 years,
36:58 with a maximum of 22 and a half years, in prison for murder and interfering with a corpse.
37:04 As her sentence was handed down by Justice Ian Harrison,
37:08 she showed no reaction.
37:10 Cries from the public gallery could be heard.
37:13 Justice Harrison said,
37:15 "The trust placed between a parent and child is of the highest and utmost importance."
37:21 Abrahams caused the death of Kaisha with the infliction of a violent, lethal force
37:27 on what was a vulnerable and defenceless child in her care,
37:32 who was entitled to expect and receive her attention.
37:38 [Music]
37:41 Justice Harrison found that while she hadn't intended to take Kaisha's life,
37:49 she had meant to cause grievous bodily harm.
37:52 He also said that he could not be sure beyond a reasonable doubt
37:56 who was responsible for the other injuries that Kaisha had sustained prior to her death.
38:03 He rejected her account of what had happened,
38:06 but said that the evidence could not adequately explain exactly what had happened.
38:12 He noted that Christy Abrahams had been abused as a child,
38:16 and said that what had happened to Kaisha
38:18 was the inevitable product of entire intergenerational failures, adding,
38:24 "The death of the deceased is the foreseeable and predictable consequence of preventable, cyclic abuse.
38:32 The offender's failures are mirrored in the failures of others."
38:36 Justice Harrison did find beyond a reasonable doubt
38:44 that she had recklessly failed to look after Kaisha after she had become injured,
38:48 which amounted to reckless indifference to human life.
38:52 Robert Smith was tried separately.
38:54 On 3rd May 2013, he was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years for manslaughter
39:00 and being an accessory to murder.
39:02 Christy Abrahams will be eligible for parole in 2027.
39:10 For her former friend Alison Anderson, the sentence wasn't good enough.
39:16 She said, "It's just horrifying, knowing she can be out when she's 46.
39:22 Does having a bad upbringing and abuse give you the right to go and take people's lives?"
39:27 She knew what she was doing. It's just a cop-out.
39:30 Kaisha was killed by a cold-blooded murderer.
39:34 The knock-on effect of Kaisha's case was huge.
39:44 So many people had been betrayed, lied to and left broken.
39:49 They hoped that they would be able to bring Kaisha home
39:52 and put all of their efforts into making this happen.
39:57 One person who was particularly affected was Alison Anderson.
40:01 While she had had her own concerns from the beginning of the investigation,
40:05 she had desperately wanted to believe that her friend
40:09 had had nothing to do with whatever had happened to Kaisha.
40:13 Now faced with the realisation that she had been lied to the entire time,
40:17 it was an incredibly painful and devastating thing to come to terms with.
40:22 Alison had also been in foster care as a child and experienced abuse,
40:27 meaning that this was incredibly personal to her.
40:31 She would later go on to become a qualified youth worker
40:34 and use her skills to help those who were vulnerable and in need
40:37 so more children don't fall through the cracks.
40:41 I'm watching. I'm watching.
40:50 Childhood should be a time of innocence, wonder and joy.
40:55 But for little Kaisha Whippet, it was a time of torment, fear and pain.
41:03 She should have been able to grow up in a happy and safe environment,
41:08 free from abuse and free to flourish and grow.
41:13 Those who loved her are determined that she will never, ever be forgotten
41:18 and that she will always be loved.
41:21 Kaisha's headstone reads,
41:24 "You are not just a memory or part of our past.
41:28 You're part of our family as long as it lasts."
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42:06 (gentle music)