Inside the disgusting, faeces and rubbish-strewn home where 11-week-old baby Caleb died while sleeping on a fold-out couch – as coroner rules he could have been saved
The death of a young boy in a “filthy” house strewn with rubbish and faeces could have been prevented if authorities had intervened, a coroner has ruled.
Caleb, who was 11 weeks old, died on November 30, 2018 in South Australia while sleeping on a fold-out couch with his mother and two siblings.
On Friday, coroner David Whittle handed down his findings to the inquest and ‘disagreed’ with comments from the Department for Child Protection (DCP) that they could do nothing to save the baby known as ‘Caleb Evans’.
DCP was informed of the risks to the baby and his siblings 23 times, including several times before Caleb was born. Advertiser reported.
The last time the department was notified was just 10 days before Caleb died.
The coroner was previously shown video footage and photographs of the horrific conditions in which Caleb lived before his death.
The house was covered in trash, with clothes and other items strewn across the floors and surfaces, and a filthy kitchen and laundry room.
A detective was heard on video saying: “There is quite a stench of animal feces throughout the house.”
The death of a baby boy in a ‘filthy’ house full of rubbish and faeces could have been prevented if authorities had intervened, the South Australian coroner has found. The cooker is pictured
The house was covered in trash, with clothes and other items strewn across the floors and on surfaces, and a filthy kitchen and laundry room (photo)
Caleb’s mother has pleaded guilty to three charges of failing to provide her three children with necessary food, clothing and shelter.
Mr Whittle said one of the issues examined during the investigation was whether Caleb’s death could have been prevented. This also examined whether a different response from the DCP to reports about the family could have saved him.
Pediatrician Michael Starr testified that if Caleb had been placed in a crib “just like any other baby, with nothing in the crib” and if “the mother had not smoked” while sleeping with the infant, “this death would not have occurred.”
“These are all preventable things,” Dr Starr told the inquest.
Mr Whittle found that Caleb’s mother had ‘consistently demonstrated’ difficulty in meeting her responsibilities as his primary carer over the years.
He said concerns about her parenting had been regularly brought to the department’s attention.
DCP said it “could not have prevented baby Caleb’s death; nor had DCP caused or contributed to the death. I don’t agree with that,” said Mr. Whittle.
“If baby Caleb had been removed from that environment, he would have slept in a clean, well-appointed crib, instead of an unsafe sleeping environment. This could possibly have prevented his death.’
Mr Whittle said the DCP had made significant changes to its practices since Caleb’s death.
Photo shows the filthy refrigerator in the South Australian home where an 11-week-old baby boy died
In video footage of a tour of the home, a detective was heard saying, “There’s a pretty nasty smell of animal feces hanging around the house.”
Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard said the department would “examine the findings very carefully and closely”.
“It speaks to the need for the department to have done better at the time of this tragic incident,” Ms Hildyard said on Friday.
‘Something had to change and we did.
The minister added: “A few years ago, the percentage of ‘no action’ (DCP) cases was around 55 per cent. That number has now been reduced to 18 percent and we continue to investigate more cases.”