Tiffani Scholten: Gold Coast girl was ‘extremely emaciated’ when she was found dead, police allege – as her guardians face court accused of murder
New details have emerged about a young girl with a rare genetic disorder who was left “extremely emaciated” and reportedly received “inadequate” care before her death.
Tiffani Scholten, 12, was found unconscious on the Gold Coast on April 18, 2022 and was later pronounced dead at her Coomera home.
Detectives launched Operation Uniform Zoysia to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.
The breakthrough came Tuesday when police arrested and charged a man and a woman who were allegedly Tiffani’s guardians at the time of her death.
Carrissa Kaye Scholten, 36, and Aaron Paul Richardson, 37, were charged with one count of murder.
The pair failed to appear at Southport District Court when their case was first heard on Tuesday afternoon.
Police suspect Tiffani’s death was the result of inadequate care.
They told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday that emergency services were confronted with confrontational scenes on the night they were called to the home in 2022.
“The Queensland Ambulance Service attended the scene and were confronted with an extremely emaciated child who had sadly passed away,” Gold Coast District Vulnerable Persons Unit Detective Inspector Paul Fletcher told reporters.
“It was a very confronting scene when they arrived at the address, both for the ambulance staff and for the police. I think anything that has to do with children is always traumatic for people, regardless of their profession.”
Police allege care for Tiffani Scholten (pictured) was ‘inadequate and directly related to her death’ after her guardians were charged with murder
Tiffani was found unconscious and ‘extremely emaciated’ at a home in Coomera on the Gold Coast in April 2022. Pictured are police at the scene
“The evidence they have gathered shows that the care provided to this child was inadequate and directly related to her death.”
Tiffani was believed to be struggling with medical issues, including Rett syndrome, a rare condition that affects brain development.
Detective Inspector Fletcher confirmed that ‘reliance was placed on paediatricians, pediatricians and other experts’ during the two-year investigation. He admitted that a large part of the investigation was focused on establishing the cause of Tiffani’s death, which was independent of her medical condition.
“There were a lot of background checks and evidence that had to be collected because of the young girl’s medical complications, and that added to the time that went into collecting that evidence,” he said.
‘There were a number of complicated issues that only added to the delay. But since these issues are of a very serious nature, we leave no issue unaddressed.’
“Every medical condition needs to be thoroughly investigated and we need to rely on experts to provide information to the police so we can be helped.”
Inspector Fletcher previously indicated that the investigation had caused a lot of stress among the officers.
“The investigation into the death of this young girl is one of the most heartbreaking and complex investigations we have ever had to conduct,” he said.
Tiffani Scholten (pictured) suffered from a number of medical conditions, including Rhett syndrome
“From the moment the investigation began, our priority was to seek justice for this innocent child.
‘It is very painful to investigate the death of a child, but the circumstances surrounding this case are particularly confronting for our officers.
“Our investigators worked diligently and deployed all available resources to ensure we were able to complete this investigation.”
“We understand the sadness and pain this has caused the community and those who knew and loved this young girl,” he said.
It has been ordered that a full supporting document must be prepared by October 25.
The cases surrounding Scholten and Richardson will be discussed again on November 8.
Both were exempted from appearing.
Court documents filed by Scholten show she still lives in Coomera, where police allege the murder took place, and her occupation is listed as “unemployed”.
Richardson now lives in Redland Bay and his work is listed as ‘unknown’.
A man and a woman were charged with murder Tuesday, two years after Tiffani died
Forensic teams are seen at the house (pictured) on the Gold Coast in 2022
Chief Inspector Greg Aubort said earlier that police had received “various forms of cooperation” from the family.
He also confirmed that police had never been to the house or encountered Tiffani before her death.
“We are consulting with pediatricians and experts in the medical conditions that Tiffani suffered from,” he said.
“Certainly we need to separate the implications of the medical conditions that Tiffani suffered from from other possible factors that may have contributed to her death.”