Authorities allege that the 26-year-old woman heard the screams of her three children, all under 5 years old, as she watched home security cameras on her phone — but never called emergency services as smoke alarms started going off within 2 minutes of her leaving the house.
A young mother of three is out on bail after she was arrested on Tuesday and charged with two counts of negligent manslaughter and one count of negligently causing serious injury after two of her children died from a fire in their house.
According to a press release from the Victoria Police in Australia, emergency services responded shortly after 9:30 p.m. on September 8, 2024, to reports of a house fire in the suburb of Sydenham. Inside the home, firefighters were able to find two young girls, 1 and 5, and a boy, 3.
Man Sentenced After Paralyzed Wife ‘Covered in Feces from Toe to Breast,’ Left on Floor Dies: Prosecutors
View Story
“All were treated immediately at the scene before being taken to hospital,” the police said in their statement. All three children were taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, per authorities, before “the two girls subsequently passed away in hospital three days later on 11 September.”
In court, prosecutors said that the children’s mother, 26-year-old Shania Lee, left the home at 9:16 p.m. that night. Within two minutes of her departure, at exactly 9:18 and 47 seconds, “a smoke alarm is activated before a child can be heard crying,” Detective Senior Constable Chris Mitchell in court Wednesday, per 9 News.
Police know what happened to this level of detail because the house was being monitored by closed circuit security cameras, with the mother allegedly watching via her phone after she’d left.
“Investigators believe that the referred screaming is in relation to children during the fire,” Mitchell said in court, adding, “It’s upsetting and an aggravating circumstance in relation to this offending … exacerbated by the fact that Lee did not call triple zero to assist her own children.” (Emergency services are at 000 in Australia).
Investigators also gained additional information on the case from recorded phone calls Lee allegedly made during her time behind bars. In one, she told co-accused Matthew Mcauliffe, who was living with her at the time, about hearing screaming.
In another recorded call from prison, as reported by ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Lee allegedly said the fire wasn’t her fault, insisting “the only thing I could get f–ked up for” would be the fact that she left her three young kids alone at home.
Man Accused of Overdosing, Strangling Husband So He Wouldn’t Leave, Then Starting GoFundMe: Prosecutors
View Story
“But it’s not like I f–king fully just left it,” she allegedly continued on that call, “like I had a camera in the kitchen, so I can make sure they didn’t get out of bed or anything like that.”
Police have alleged that Lee and McAuliffe left her children unattended that night to go and retrieve a second-hand car part together. They’ve said that the pair’s movements were captured on neighboring CCTV footage, and confirmed by McAulliffe in an alleged statement to police.
Investigators have determined that the fire started in the main bedroom, according to Mitchell, while neighbors who heard the alarm reportedly said that they called out to see if anyone was in the house as the fire began to spread, but got no response. Emergency services arrived at 9:39 p.m. and found all three children alive but unconscious.
At 10:40 p.m., Lee and McAuliffe returned to her home and presented themselves to police, according to the news organization. Mitchell said that Lee told police she’d contacted one of the children’s fathers to go to the house to take care of the children. When reached, though, the father said he had not heard from her.
In a separate phone call to McAuliffe that was monitored by Victoria Police later that month, per News.com.au, McAuliffe allegedly accused Lee of watching the cameras and hearing “screaming.” Mitchell explained in the evidence, “Lee admits that she watched the cameras at the last minute.” She then allegedly “states ‘It’s nothing, It’s nothing’ and asks if McAuliffe will use it against her.”
Nursing Home Resident, 95, Found Washing Hands In Bloody Clothes After Roommate’s Beating Death: Police
View Story
Lee’s defense attorney, Sam Norton, countered that his client did not know that a fire had broken out, despite the camera. “Belief is one thing,” he argued, per ABC. “Evidence is another.”
Mitchell told the court that his department consulted with a fire expert to try and determine the cause of the fire, with the expert telling them the “most likely” cause for the blaze was the ignition of flammable material in the primary bedroom like a box of clothing.
McAuliffe allegedly admitted to police that he was a cigarette smoker but did not smoke inside the house. He is believed to be the last person in the bedroom before the fire broke out, but there was no indication a cigarette had sparked the blaze, with the aforementioned expert calling that possibility “unlikely.”
The electrical company also examined the home for potential electrical faults and found no evidence of anything abnormal, per 9 News.
As for Lee, Mitchell alleged in court that police had “contemporary intelligence” that she was using and dealing drugs and “engaging in high risk and unlawful acts such as police pursuits,” per News.com.au.
In court, Norton assert that there is no evidence that Lee knew there was a fire when she left the home and she’s not been charged with starting the fire. She also hasn’t been charged in relation to any “intelligence” related to drugs, he confirmed. “This case has got massive, massive issues,” he said on Wednesday.
Lee’s next court date is set for January 15.
Mom Gave Birth and Hid 3 Infant Bodies in Home, Not Found Until Her Eviction: Police
View Story
