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Father accused of ignoring his 11-year-old son’s snakebite before he died ‘did not know’ the boy had been bitten as his lawyer says police cannot prove crime occurred
- Police charged the father a year after his 11-year-old son Tristian Frahm died of a snakebite
- Kerrod Frahm, 31, faces court charged with manslaughter in Queensland
- He is accused of failing to get medical help after Tristian told him he was bitten by a snake.
- He did not plead guilty, but his lawyer said police cannot prove a crime occurred.
The Australian father accused of ignoring his son’s fatal snakebite did not know the reptile had struck him, his lawyer says, adding that it is impossible to prove he was responsible for the boy’s death.
Hours after being bitten by a snake, 11-year-old Tristian Frahm got out of bed to vomit, then tragically died alone on a Murgon property on November 20, 2021.
Police claimed that he complained about the bite to his father, Kerrod Frahm, 31, but dismissed the boy’s complaint and let him go to bed without seeking medical attention.
The boy’s lifeless body was found outside the shed he was sleeping in the next morning.
The Australian father accused of ignoring his son’s fatal snakebite did not know the reptile had struck him, his lawyer has said. In the photo, Tristian Frahm, who died on November 20, 2021
Kerrod Frahm’s lawyer, Andrew Bale, told Murgon court that it was impossible to prove that his client was responsible for his son’s death. In the photo, Frahm with Tristian when the boy was much younger.
Police charged the father with manslaughter last month, accusing him of not taking his son seriously when he was fatally wounded.
Frahm appeared before Murgon Magistrates Court on Tuesday, the mail informed.
No plea was filed as his lawyer, Andrew Bale, requested a brief of evidence from the police.
Outside court, Bale spoke to the media and acknowledged the “tragic accident” but dismissed the charges against his client.
“It seems to me that there is no possible way that they can prove that my client caused a death here and that is what they need to be able to prove to be successful.”
A police strike force was created to establish how Tristan died from the snakebite, leading to a manslaughter charge being brought against Frahm.
Police claimed that he complained about the bite to his father, Kerrod Frahm, 31, but dismissed the boy’s complaint and let him go to bed without seeking medical attention.
Bale claimed that Frahm, who was standing with his lawyer as he spoke, was unaware that Tristian had been bitten.
‘That’s really all there is to it, isn’t it?’
The case was adjourned until March 7, 2023.
Police set up Operation Uniform Plot a year ago to investigate Tristian’s sudden death last year, which culminated in the father’s charges.
His devastated aunt, Gemma Thorley, wrote a heartbreaking tribute to the boy on Facebook last November, a day after his body was found.
‘My little hero. I am beyond words and heart broken is unimaginable. I am still in disbelief. I couldn’t be luckier to have had a nephew like you,” she wrote.
‘Thank you for making me an aunt.
‘I love you more than I ever thought possible, I miss you more and more by the minute, there will be a hole the size of you in my heart forever.’