The heartbroken father of a little girl who was left to die in a sweltering hot car with her half-sister remains haunted by the tragedy, describing every day as a “living nightmare.”
Darcey-Helen Conley was only two and a half when she and 18-month-old Chloe-Ann were left in a car outside their home in Brisbane for nine hours as the temperature inside the vehicle rose above 60°C.
Their ice cream-addicted mother Kerri-Ann Conley had left the two girls in her car after returning to her Waterford West home in the early hours of November 23, 2019.
She left the kids in their car seats because she didn’t want to wake them up and went inside to sleep.
Darcey-Helen’s father, Peter Jackson, who was no longer living with Conley at the time, will never forget the horrible memories of trying to resuscitate his little girl on the bathroom floor nine hours later.
Darcey-Helen Conley and her half-sister Chloe-Ann were left to die in a hot car in 2019
He says everything changed that day.
“I relive that bathroom every night, every day,” Mr. Jackson told the ABC.
“It’s not just me that has affected this. It’s the whole family. We actually had to learn to live again.’
A shocking report released last month revealed that Conley was known to the Department of Child Safety and had a long history of neglect and substance abuse.
The report revealed how Conley brutally told child protective services that she was using methamphetamine and even refused drug tests.
She would also have said that in June 2018 she wanted to trade her unborn child Chloe for an iPhone 7.
Another report claimed that on November 6, 2019, just weeks before her death, Darcey-Helen was seen with a bong in her mouth while running around her house.
Just a week later, on November 13, police were told that Conley was using and dealing crystal meth from her home, while her children were locked in another room.
But despite the litany of shocking abuses, child protective services went ahead and declared Conley “a willing and able parent.”
Just ten days after Conley was declared a suitable parent, her daughters were found dead.
Mr Jackson is now taking legal action against Queensland’s Child Safety Department seeking damages for personal injury he believes resulted from the girls’ deaths three and a half years ago.
He has suffered nervous shock, severe post-traumatic stress disorder and severe anxiety since the tragedy, according to a claim filed in the Supreme Court last year.
He believes that Darcey and Chloe would be alive today, were it not for the Queensland Child Safety Department’s string of busts.
Just weeks before the tragedy, doctors told the ward that Darcey had been exposed to meth at her mother’s home.
Mr Jackson also says he reported that Conley told him she had fallen asleep on the sofa and left her in the car.
Peter Jackson, father of Darcey-Helen Conley, remains haunted by the tragedy
A Queensland Family and Child Commission report found that ‘obvious red flags’ were being overlooked and that the system ‘should have done more’ to promote their safety.
“Child Safety knew their mom used ice cream,” Mr. Jackson said.
“They knew she was driving high, with Darcey in the car… that she refused to take drug tests.
“They knew she wanted to trade Chloe for an iPhone 7 [prior to her birth].’
Kerri-Ann Conley (pictured with Darcey-Helen) was sentenced to nine years in prison earlier this year
He is also campaigning for child safety legislation to be reviewed and calling for an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the protection system.
Mr Jackson has been allowed to file a lawsuit against the State of Queensland and has been given permission to sue Conley and her motor insurance company RACQ Insurance.
Lawyers of RACQ Verzekeringen denied its client is obliged to indemnify Conley in respect of the claim for compensation.
The Queensland Family and Child Commission conducted a system review following Chloe and Darcey’s deaths and made three recommendations, all of which have since been implemented.
“Queenslanders need to be confident that vulnerable children can and will be cared for, and that systems are in place to care for children at risk,” said a department spokeswoman.
“We will always act as a model litigant in conducting all litigation, ensuring that we comply with our obligations to maintain ethical and professional standards and to resolve claims expeditiously.”
Mr Jackson was in court when Conley was sentenced to nine years in prison in February after she pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
He revealed outside court that he was not “obviously not happy with the punishment.”
“I can’t help what the other parent does. Unfortunately you can’t always be around,’ he said.
“I miss their laughter, their giggles, everything. They’re toddlers, what’s not to like about them?’
Kerri-Ann Conley (pictured) will be eligible for parole in November 2024
Kerri-Ann Conley’s daughters Darcy-Helen Conley (left) and Chloe-Ann (right) were found dead in Conley’s car, parked outside her Waterford West home in November 2019
Sentencing judge, Judge Peter Applegarth, labeled Conley’s actions “grossly negligent.”
“Your grossly negligent behavior was the decision to leave your vulnerable children unkempt, unheard and unnoticed in the dark,” he said.
Conley had taken them to a friend’s house at 11:30 PM on November 22, 2019 before returning home around 4 AM.
Instead of getting her daughters off their seats, she went inside, dawdled on her phone for a few hours, and fell asleep.
Darcy-Helen and Chloe-Ann were left in the vehicle in direct sunlight for hours as the temperature rose to 61.5 degrees.
The girls’ skin was hot to the touch, covered in burns and blisters and was “peeling off” when paramedics tried to resuscitate them, the court was told.
The court was told that Conley revealed she smoked drug ice cream daily to an undercover police officer while in custody.
But she insisted that her children “always came first” and that her drug use had no impact on her relationship with the girls.
“It’s an astonishing statement that only a drug addict can make,” said Mr Applegarth.
Conley, now 30, has already spent three years behind bars and will be eligible for parole after November 22, 2024.
Peter Jackson (pictured) believes Darcey and Chloe would be alive today if the state’s child protection system hadn’t gone through a series of failures