Serious questions have been raised about whether a young girl allegedly murdered by her mother was failed by Queensland’s child safety system.
Four-year-old Cleo Rose Catterall was found unresponsive inside a home in Lowood, west of Brisbane, late on Monday night.
Her mother, nurse Jessie Renee Phillips, 31, has been charged with murder.
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The accused is understood to have undergone mental health treatment weeks before she allegedly murdered the little girl.
“It’s a terribly tragic instance and we need to understand what the causes were and what happened here,” Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls said.
There are also questions over the involvement of Child Safety, with reports the family was on the radar of the department.
“I’d hate to speculate on anything that might jeopardise the ongoing investigation,” Police Minister Dan Purdie said.
Opposition leader Steven Miles claimed on Wednesday “it is clear that the child safety department is in turmoil, their minister is in hiding”.
While the courts will determine what led to Cleo’s tragic death, just last week the state government received the final report of a 10-month inquiry into the child safety system.
Figures show that over five years to June 2025, 28 Queensland children fell victim to filicide.
Sixty-four per cent were known to the child safety system and more than 50 per cent of alleged perpetrators had mental health issues.
Phillips did not apply for bail when she appeared in Ipswich Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The matter was adjourned until June and she was remanded in custody.
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