Daniel was an active two-year-old who loved jumping in puddles and in 2003, about seven weeks before he died, he and his mother moved in with Ms Martyn and her three children around the corner from their home in Myrtleford. Ms Thomas told police that she wanted Ms Martyn’s help to look after Daniel, who suffered from severe eczema that meant he often had to be bandaged from head to toe. But inside that Standish Street house, Daniel suffered cruelty that amounted to torture, the coroner found. Daniel was gagged, tied-up, slapped, shut in cupboards and under the house and called a dog, bastard and ‘‘c***.’’ The coroner said Ms Martyn was the principal abuser, but his mother, scared of the dominant woman, failed to protect her son.

‘‘She remained under the same roof as someone who systematically mistreated her own son and she manifestly failed to protect or console him,’’ Ms Heffey said. ‘‘She chose to do nothing and allowed the abuse to Daniel to continue.’’ The inquest that was held in Wangaratta, near Myrtleford, in December had heard from witnesses who knew something was not right at the Standish Street home. Rosemarie Loader, whose children knew Ms Martyns' through school, said she reported the hint of abuse she saw to Mungabareena Aborigional Cooperation in nearby Wodonga but never to police. "We did the only thing we felt we could do - we went to our own people," she said. "The guilt we have lived with. If we had of gone the next day and said something, that little boy might still be here." The inquest also heard from three other people - Ms Martyn's drug counsellor, her carer and a friend - who only came forward in December with their vital information that Ms Martyn had admitted that she had disposed of Daniel's body.

Victorian Children's Commissioner Bernie Geary said outside court on Thursday that Daniel's case highlighted the need for people to report suspected child abuse directly to police or child protection. "You've got to be fair dinkum about making a notification. Don't just tell the person up the road and think your duty is done," Mr Geary said. "Children trust adults and it behoves us to care for them." Ms Heffey did not determine a cause of death in her findings on Thursday, stating that Daniel died on or about October 13, 2003, from strangulation, drowning or a head injury and Ms Martyn disposed of his body. The coroner said Ms Martyn ‘‘most likely’’ placed his body in a pram covered in a blanket and put him under Ms Thomas’ unoccupied Lawrence Street house nearby. Four days later Ms Martyn reported Daniel missing and her subsequent conduct, Ms Heffey said, was "deliberately misleading". It would take another four-and-a-half years for a dog to find Daniel’s remains under the house Ms Martyn had left him.

‘‘Had Daniel’s body been found at that point (in 2003), a cause of death would almost certainly have been established and a productive and effective homicide investigation undertaken,’’ Ms Heffey said. The coroner found that ‘‘insufficient attention’’ was paid to the possibility that Daniel could be under Ms Thomas’ former home after he was reported missing. Homicide squad Detective Senior Sergeant Stuart Bailey said outside court on Thursday that the Director of Public Prosecution will review the case for potential criminal charges. ‘‘We’ll do a thorough assessment and investigation and we’ll see where that takes us,’’ he said. Daniel’s father Kevin Ruffels, who was estranged from Ms Thomas, said he would not feel closure until Ms Martyn was charged.

‘‘Hopefully (she) gets sentenced to many years in prison,’’ he said outside court. Ms Thomas, who sat in the front row during the proceedings, broke down. Her barrister Diana Price said outside court her client would not be making a comment. Ms Martyn was not in court in Melbourne nor in Wangaratta, near Myrtleford, where the findings were broadcast via videolink. With Jade Gailberger