The shattered dad of a little girl who was left to die in a sweltering hot car alongside her half-sister remains haunted by the tragedy and describes every day as a ‘living nightmare’.
Darcey-Helen Conley was just two-and-a-half when she and 18-month Chloe-Ann were left in a car outside their Brisbane home for nine hours as temperatures soared past 60C inside the vehicle.
Their ice-addicted mother Kerri-Ann Conley, had left the two girls in her car after returning to her Waterford West home in the early hours on November 23 2019.
She left the children in their car seats because she did not want to wake them and went inside her home to sleep.
Darcey-Helen’s dad Peter Jackson, who was no longer living with Conley at the time will never forget the awful memories of trying to resuscitate his little girl on the bathroom floor nine hours later.
Darcey-Helen Conley and her half-sister Chloe-Ann were left to die in a hot car in 2019
He says everything changed that day.
‘I relive that bathroom every night, every day,’ Mr Jackson told the ABC.
‘It’s not just me that this has affected. It’s the whole family. We’ve basically had to learn how to live again.’
A shocking report released last month revealed Conley was known to the Department of Child Safety and had a long history of neglect and drug abuse.
The report revealed how Conley brazenly told child services she used methamphetamine and even refused drug tests.
She is also said to have told them she wanted to swap her unborn child Chloe for an iPhone 7 in June 2018.
Another report claimed Darcey-Helen was seen with a bong in her mouth while running around her house on November 6, 2019, just weeks before her death.
Just a week later, on November 13, police were told Conley was using and dealing crystal meth form her home, with her children locked in another room.
But despite the litany of shocking abuses, child services went on to declare Conley ‘a parent willing and able’.
Just ten days after Conley was declared a fit parent, her daughters were found dead.
Mr Jackson is now pursuing legal action against the Queensland child safety department and seeking damages for personal injuries he says stem from the girls’ deaths three-and-a-half years ago.
He has sustained nervous shock, severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and severe anxiety since the tragedy, a notice of claim filed with the Supreme Court last year states.
He believes Darcey and Chloe would still be alive today if not for a series of failures by Queensland’s Child Safety department.
Just weeks before the tragedy, doctors told the department that Darcey had been exposed to meth at her mum’s house.
Mr Jackson says he also reported that Conley had told him she had fallen asleep on the couch, leaving her in the car.
Darcey-Helen Conley’s dad Peter Jackson remains haunted by the tragedy
A Queensland Family and Child Commission report found ‘clear red flags’ were overlooked and that the system ‘should have done more’ to promote their safety.
‘Child Safety knew their mother used ice,’ Mr Jackson said.
‘They knew she drove around high, with Darcey in the car … that she refused to do drug tests.
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‘They knew she wanted to swap Chloe for an iPhone 7 [prior to her birth].’
Kerri-Ann Conley (pictured with Darcey-Helen) was sentenced to nine years jail earlier this year
He’s also campaigning for child safety legislation to be overhauled, calling for an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the protection system.
Mr Jackson has been given leave to commence proceedings against the State of Queensland and granted leave to sue Conley and her motor vehicle insurer RACQ Insurance.
Lawyers for RACQ Insurance denied its client is obliged to indemnify Conley in respect of the claim for damages.
The Queensland Family and Child Commission undertook systems review following the deaths of Chloe and Darcey and made three recommendations which have since all been implemented.
“Queenslanders need to have confidence that vulnerable children can and will be looked after, and that there are systems in place to look after children who are at risk,’ a department spokeswoman said.
“We will always act as a model litigant in the conduct of all litigation, ensuring we meet our obligations to uphold ethical and professional standards, and deal with claims promptly.”
Mr Jackson was in court when Conley was sentenced to nine years jail in February after she pleaded pleaded guilt to manslaughter.
He revealed outside court he wasn’t ‘obviously not happy with the sentence’.
‘I can’t help what the other parent does. You can’t always be around, unfortunately,’ he said.
‘I miss their laughs, their giggles, everything. They’re toddlers, what’s not to love about them?’
Kerri-Ann Conley (pictured) will be eligible for parole in November 2024
Kerri-Ann Conley’s daughters Darcy-Helen Conley (left) and Chloe-Ann (right) were found dead in Conley’s car, parked outside her Waterford West home in November 2019
Sentencing judge Justice Peter Applegarth labelled Conley’s actions ‘grossly negligent’.
‘Your grossly negligent conduct was deciding to leave your vulnerable children uncared for, unheard and unobserved in the dark,’ he said.
Conley had taken them to a friend’s place at 11.30pm on November 22, 2019 before returning home at about 4am.
Instead of removing her daughters from their seats, she went inside, dawdled on her phone for a few hours and fell asleep.
Darcy-Helen and Chloe-Ann were left in the vehicle in direct sunlight for hours as temperatures climbed to 61.5 degrees.
The girls’ skin was hot to the touch, covered in burns and blisters and was ‘peeling off’ as paramedics tried to revive them, the court was told.
The court was told Conley disclosed she smoked the drug ice daily to a covert police officer while in custody.
But she insisted her kids ‘always came first’ and her drug use did not affect her relationship with the girls.
‘It’s an astounding statement only a drug addict could make,’ Mr Applegarth said.
Now 30, Conley has already served three years behind bars and will be eligible for parole after November 22, 2024.
Peter Jackson (pictured) believes Darcey and Chloe would still be alive today if it wasn’t for a series of failures by the state’s child protection system
