A two-year-old girl named Maddilyn-Rose Stokes was forced to suffer unbearable pain after her parents punished her for soiling her diaper by putting her in boiling water. The injuries the girl sustained were so severe that she died five days after she was cruelly hurt.
The incident took place on May 20, 2017, but the parents were only given prison time this year.
Life, without parole, should have been the sentence for these two bits of garbage.
Parents jailed for torture and manslaughter of toddler daughter Maddilyn-Rose Ava Stokes https://t.co/skU4VV209l
— Incredulous (@NoGodDamnYou) February 22, 2021
Maddilyn-Rose was reported to had died in agony as her untreated injuries were third degree burns which her parents, Shane David Stokes, 33, and Nicole Betty Moore, 26, tried to heal with aloe vera gel and bandages. When paramedics arrived in the family’s home, Maddilyn-Rose was unconscious. She was taken to the hospital but died shortly after.
Authorities who also arrived at the scene found bloody bandages and mattresses all over the place. “She would have been in misery and pain, unable to walk,” prosecutor Sarah Farnden told the court. “She would have been dehydrated and weak before becoming delirious and falling unconscious before going into cardiac arrest.”
Charges over death of Northgate, toddler Maddilyn-Rose Stokes may not be laid for weeks. https://t.co/jNInvxZivY #7News pic.twitter.com/AvrpjKgz3E
— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) May 27, 2017
According to the medical reports, the dad had given poor Maddilyn-Rose antidepressants so that she wouldn’t scream. The mother’s lawyers claimed she didn’t hurt her daughter and even considered calling an ambulance.
Eventually, both Moore and Stokes pleaded guilty and were sentenced to nine years and six months and eleven years respectively.
During their sentencing, Judge David Jackson said the toddler’s death was “dreadful and beyond tragic.” He also said, “Your concerns were for yourselves, at your daughter’s expense – it cost your daughter’s life. The greatest tragedy is that had you taken her promptly to hospital, called triple zero, her life would have been saved and she would have received proper pain relief. She would not have had to endure almost five days of excruciating pain suffered by the victim of untreated and serious burns – you both bear full responsibility.”
Maddilyn-Rose Ava Stokes ‘parents’, SHANE STOKES & NICOLE MOORE are to be charged with their daughter’s torture & death. #auspol pic.twitter.com/MuSWu7j4Tz
— Shame of Australia (@ShameAustralia) June 5, 2017
Many believe that these two, who don’t even deserve to be called a mother and a father, should have been sentenced to life in prison.
Rest in peace, Maddilyn-Rose.
Representational Cover Image Source: Getty Images/Jill Tindall