A woman jailed over the death of a two-year-old boy in southern Queensland has been depicted in court as a "conniving liar, devoid of remorse".
Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find distressing.
Lisa Rose Halcrow, 42, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of toddler Connor Horan.
The Supreme Court in Toowoomba heard Halcrow had been babysitting Connor in Warwick during August 2018 when she grabbed him by the jaw and hit him in the back of the head with such force that he fell down the stairs.
The court heard Halcrow had been suffering from the after-effects of alcohol, methylamphetamine and cannabis when she became annoyed with Connor's behaviour.
Forensic examinations found Connor suffered blunt force trauma to his head as well as haemorrhaging to his bowel and pancreas.
Prosecutor Philip McCarthy told the court Halcrow had waited for 20 minutes, and changed into fresh clothes, before taking Connor to hospital.
The court heard Connor was dead when he arrived at Warwick Hospital but doctors and nurses tried for an hour to resuscitate him.
Detectives later found Halcrow's clothes with Connor's blood on them, as well as a cloth used to wipe blood from the two-year-old's ears.
A 'cheeky little boy'
Connor's mother Emily Horan, who read out her victim impact statement in court, said her son was a "cheeky little boy" who always put a smile on her face.
"Every time I dropped him off anywhere, he would always cry — our bond was very deep," Ms Horan said.
"Every day [after his death I] was overwhelmed by so much devastation."
Ms Horan said she felt a sting in her heart whenever she saw families with children about the same age as Connor.
"I can't stop thinking of what my life with Connor should have been," she said.
"Would Connor be talking by now? What would Connor be up to? What would Connor love doing? My whole life revolved around him."
The last to hold Connor
Connor's grandmother, Deborah Ballard, also read out a victim impact statement to court.
"Connor was born on my birthday," Ms Ballard said.
"I was the one to cut his cord. I was the first one to hold him in this world.
"I was the last to hold him, rocking him for a half an hour.
"He was rolled up in blanket … with only his nose poking out, rocking him, telling how much he was loved."
Ms Ballard said leaving Connor's body in hospital was the hardest thing she had to do in her life.
"I had to walk away and leave him on a bed in hospital, never to see him again."
Family's heartache
Halcrow, who was wearing a white shirt and black jacket, was emotional while the victim impact statements were read and often looked down.
The court heard Halcrow had become friends with Ms Ballard after working with her at an aged care facility and had started to babysit Connor after offering to help Ms Horan.
Outside court, Ms Ballard said they could now move on with their lives.
"We have to accept what we've got and [Halcrow] can take the consequences," she said.
"She was a trusted friend. She caused us heartache and took away our grandson's life."
A 'cruel and brutal' death
In his submissions to the court, prosecutor Philip McCarthy said Halcrow had prior convictions for assault, which showed she had impulsive behaviours and was prepared to engage in violent behaviour.
He said Halcrow's behaviour in continuing to lie to police and failure to take responsibility did not warrant clemency.
"This is another example of a cruel and brutal killing of a very young child," Mr McCarthy said.
In handing down his sentence, Justice David Boddice said Halcrow's offending was a serious example of manslaughter.
"[Connor] depended on you for care and protection. You did exactly the opposite," he said.
"You became obsessed with that child and felt you had some parenting role … that in my view is an aggravating feature of what you ultimately did to Connor."
Justice Boddice said Halcrow continued to lie about Connor's death for years, adding to the family's hurt.
"[A police walk-through] depicts a conniving liar, devoid of remorse," he said.
"Connor's family will have to live with it for the rest of their days. You will have to live with that for the rest of your days.
"Their loss, however, is so much more profound because Connor was taken from them because of your actions."
Halcrow sentenced
Justice Boddice sentenced Halcrow to 10 years in prison and declared her a serious violent offender, meaning she would have to serve at least eight years before being eligible for parole.
As Halcrow was led away from the dock, members of her family shouted out, 'We love you, Lisa', and, 'We will see you soon'."
A further charge of grievous bodily harm against Halcrow has been remitted to the Toowoomba District Court.
