Police say deaths of Barak Austral, 5, and Jhulio Sariago, 3, in Ross River a ‘preventable tragedy’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The mother of two young brothers who drowned in Townsville’s Ross River in February has been charged with manslaughter, and bail has been denied.

Barak Austral, 5, and Jhulio Sariago, 3, drowned after they wandered away from their home sometime between 5.30pm and 6.30pm on 25 February.

Their mother, Leanne Eatts, was charged with manslaughter and serious drug offences, police said.

Detective Dave Miles said Eatts was “solely responsible” for the preventable deaths of her sons.

“There is no way these boys should have been left the way they were, or ... allowed to go down to the river and certainly their deaths under appropriate parental supervision would have been averted,” he said.

Miles said the tragic events on the day the boys wandered off alone and drowned were not isolated but a “systemic behaviour” of their mother and the lack of supervision.

“This is a catastrophic result for this family and it was a preventable tragedy,” he said.

Police are also investigating if drugs or alcohol were factors in the boys’ deaths.

“What we do know is that for a considerable amount of time there was complete inattention as to where these young boys were or where they may have gone.”

The bodies of Barak and Jhulio were found submerged in a steep and deep cutaway of the Ross River in Cranbrook on the morning of 26 February.

They were within two metres of each other.

Eatts was remanded in custody to appear on 17 May.

The magistrate Peter Smid refused bail and said the safety of Eatts and the community could be at risk if she was released, the ABC reported.

Gracelyn Smallwood, an Indigenous elder who helped rally the locals and raise funds for the family, called for calm.

“We are all in shock, the charges are very serious,” she said.

“Let’s not let this take away from the deaths of these two little angels and the amazing way the black and white community came together.”