A 45-year-old man was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to manslaughter over the death of an eight-month-old boy who was left unattended while his carers took drugs.
Justice Catherine Muir said the case was "tragic and utterly heartbreaking" as she imposed the sentence on Andrew William Campbell in Brisbane Supreme Court over the June 2019 death of Dexter Wilton. Campbell will be eligible for parole in September 2026, with 898 days of pre-sentence custody declared as time served.
Prosecutors told the court Campbell had been in a de-facto relationship with Dexter's mother, Natalie Jade Whitehead, for about four weeks and had moved into her unit in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, taking on a parenting role. The pair became "overtaken by a cocktail of drugs" and embarked on what was described in court as a 24-hour "ice bender," during which the infant was left alone in a filthy room for at least 21 hours with a single bottle in his cot.
Paramedics found Dexter had been dead for up to three hours when they arrived at the property. The Crown said Dexter died of acute malnutrition and severe dehydration, and that rashes and lesions were observed on his buttocks and thighs. A prosecutor, Matt Le Grand, told the court the hours before the boy's death "would have been extremely distressing physically and emotionally" and described the breach of duty as "nothing other than abhorrent."
The court heard that after realizing the child was unwell, Whitehead called emergency services and Campbell was asked to perform CPR but refused. Before police and paramedics arrived, the boy had been cleaned and given a change of clothes. Campbell also visited a neighbour to hide a bag of drug utensils and to dispose of soiled baby clothes and nappies, according to prosecutors.
Campbell entered an earlier guilty plea to manslaughter. His defence told the court he had a long history of drug use dating back to age 16. Prosecutors tabled a three-page criminal history, saying drugs were at the root of his offending. Justice Muir noted there was little evidence of remorse shown by Campbell during proceedings.
Dexter's mother, Whitehead, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to nine years in prison in October 2024. The sentencing of both carers closes a case that has drawn public attention in Australia for its severity and the vulnerability of the victim.
Court documents and submissions outlined the timeline of events in June 2019 and the medical findings that established cause of death. Authorities and legal representatives relied on those findings at trial and sentencing hearings in Brisbane. The sentences reflect judicial consideration of culpability, the harmful effects of illicit drug use on caregiving, and the seriousness of neglect resulting in a child's death.