The mother of a nine-year-old girl whose body was found in a shallow grave has been charged with murder and sentenced to life in prison.
In her closing arguments, prosecutor Christine Sarno said the victim was raped in a “sickening and barbaric” act that was “cruel and inhumane”.
The court also heard the mother was the sole caretaker of the child.
Sarno called the mother a “very caring” and “intelligent” woman who was “truly and deeply disturbed”.
The child was found with a head injury and bruising in a home on the outskirts of Melbourne’s west on November 22, 2018.
The mother, who has been identified only as Jody, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the girl and is set to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Sarnao said there was no evidence the girl had been raped or that she was sexually assaulted.
“The girl did not engage in any sexual activity or engage in physical contact with the father.”
There was no sexual intercourse or any penetration of the father’s genitalia,” Sarnot said.”
She was sexually penetrated by the father in a manner which was extremely cruel and inhuman and disgusting.
“The trial of the mother is the second major child-killing case to come to court in Australia in less than a month.
On October 17, a court heard how a five-year old boy was allegedly raped and beaten by his mother after she was found dead in a shed at her family’s home in Port Macquarie.
Her five-day-old baby died later in the same week.
The trial continues.
