Woman, 23, faces court in NSW after nine-month-old girl discovered at Surfers Paradise last month

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The mother of a nine-month-old baby girl found dead on a Surfers Paradise beach has faced court charged with failing to provide for her child and causing “danger of death”.

The 23-year-old, who cannot be named, was extradited on Thursday from Queensland to NSW and charged in Tweed Heads.

The court was closed as she appeared by video link at Byron Bay local court on Friday.

The baby’s father, a 47-year-old man, was charged on 22 November with murdering his daughter, whose body was found on the beach by passers-by three days earlier.

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Court documents revealed he allegedly told the mother he was giving the infant to a tribal elder.

It’s alleged the infant was thrown into the water at Tweed Heads in NSW, where she died, before her body drifted north for about 30km.

The couple’s second child, a two-year-old boy, has been taken into state care.

Police tracked the family’s movements through CCTV footage, which showed four people heading to Tweed Heads and only three returning to Queensland.

The mother has been in the care of Queensland mental health services since her daughter’s death.

It is understood she and her family had been living rough in Queensland and northern NSW.

The matter has been adjourned to Tweed Heads local court on Tuesday.