Brisbane parents of toddler who died after hot bath charged with torture and murder

The parents of Maddilyn-Rose Stokes, the Brisbane toddler who died after a hot bath in late May, has been charged with murder and torture.

They were arrested on Monday (5 June) from their Ridge Street townhouse, where their two-year-old daughter was found unconscious with severe burn wounds on her back, buttocks and legs.

The toddler was scalded after her parents gave her a hot bath, police said. The parents – Shane Stokes, 30, and Nicole Moore, 23 – are accused of not getting timely medical attention for their daughter, leading to her untimely death.

"This investigation has been particularly difficult and emotionally challenging due to the nature of the victim being a two year old girl suffering severe injuries," Detective Inspector Tim Trezise of Brisbane police was quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as saying.

He added that Maddilyn was taken to Lady Cilento Children's Hospital in South Brisbane on the evening of May 25 with severe burn injuries after her parents called paramedics. However, the injuries were life-threatening and the girl could not be saved. She died in the hospital that night.

Trezise said that the parents did not seek medical help for several days and blamed her injuries on hot bath water. They called for help only when they found the child not breathing on 25 May.

The parents, who are due to face court on Tuesday, have termed it as a "a terrible accident" caused by "a moment's inattention", the Brisbane Times reported.