Mother sentenced after 'negligence' causes son's death

For Andrew O'Sullivan, there is no justice for his young son.

The actions of his former partner, the mother of four-year-old Tarrin, still haunt him.

Tarrin O'Sullivan was found unresponsive in the family's unused pool on August 29, 2021, in Munbura, south of Mackay in north Queensland.

He was pronounced dead later that night after being taken to Mackay Base Hospital.

Tara Maree Richardson, 49, was yesterday freed from jail, having been given a five-year suspended sentence for her guilty plea on a charge of domestic violence manslaughter, by way of negligence.

She had spent more than 1,000 days on remand.

Richardson appeared in the Supreme Court in Mackay yesterday via video link from a Townsville prison.

With her head down, Richardson wrote in her notebook as Mr O'Sullivan detailed the impact of their son's death.

Outside court, Mr O'Sullivan said the court process had provided his family with "no answers".

Tarrin's last day

There is still some uncertainty surrounding Tarrin's death.

An autopsy report disclosed findings "consistent with immersion" however "classical" signs of drowning were not present, and a definitive cause of death was never identified.

Justice Christopher Johntsone said Richardson had been inconsistent in her interviews detailing the events on the day Tarrin died, but to the best of the court's knowledge, the afternoon began with him playing while Richardson cleaned the house.

The court heard the pair was alone in the house from noon.

Tarrin moved in and out of the house playing with his bike and in his sandpit and somewhere between about 2 and 2:45pm he came inside for a drink.

By 4:25pm, the court heard Tarrin did not respond to Richardson's call, and she began searching her own and the neighbour's property.

Half an hour later, her then-partner Jason Richardson came home to help the search. He found unresponsive Tarrin in the property's unused pool.

Just after 7pm, Tarrin was declared dead at the Mackay Base Hospital.

'Pattern' of neglect

The court heard Richardson had said she felt "smothered" by her non-verbal, autistic son.

The court heard that in the month before Tarrin's death, Department of Child Safety officers visited Richardson's home and raised concerns after seeing the boy only wearing a nappy, about his erratic behaviour, and the cleanliness and safety of the house.

The property's unused "dirty" pool had a fence, but it was not safety compliant and there were toys and items around that could have been used to climb, and Tarrin was known to be able to climb fences.

In a victim impact statement, Richardson's adult daughter, Tayla Richardson, said caring for her children was never her mother's priority.

"It is about a pattern I experienced throughout my life, where my mother's own priorities appeared to come before the safety, wellbeing and needs of her own children."

Justice Johnstone said while the exact mechanism of death was uncertain, "a consistent lack of supervision" contributed.

"You were overwhelmed as a parent, you were not responding appropriately as a parent and you were not doing all that you were required to do as a mother of a highly vulnerable child," he said.

Richardson's barrister Anna Cappellano said mitigating factors in her client's offending included her bipolar disorder diagnosis and having no criminal history.

Charge change

Richardson was arrested more than two years after Tarrin's death and originally charged with murder.

Before her sentencing yesterday, her charge was downgraded and she subsequently pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

In his victim impact statement, Mr O'Sullivan, who was living separately to Richardson at the time of their son's death, said the lower charge was an "insult" to his child's memory.

"The one person that I believe gave up on my son that day was his mother, and it still haunts me and gives me heartache to know that," he said.

"I felt there was no justice for my son should Tara Richardson walk free today or in the near future.

"She gets to go home and my son will never do that again."

Justice Johnstone criticised the impact statement for questioning the way justice was administered.

He later said Richardson was sentenced on the basis that Tarrin's death was a result of neglect "as opposed to something more sinister".

After the sentencing, Mr O'Sullivan said he would pursue a coronial inquest to try to find more information about his son's death.