Hundreds
weep for Darcey Freeman
Article
from: Sue
Hewitt
February 01, 2009 12:00am
They
never knew little Darcey
Freeman, but that didn't
stop hundreds of people from making the pilgrimage to Melbourne's West
Gate Bridge yesterday to mourn the four-year-old's tragic death.
The
outpouring of grief for the girl,
who was allegedly
thrown to her death from the top of the bridge by her father on
Thursday,
has sparked calls for a public memorial service this week.
Flowers,
teddy bears and a doll were
left near a
memorial for the 35 workers who died when part of the bridge collapsed
in 1970, and more than 27,000 people have flooded social networking
site
Facebook with messages of support for Darcey's family.
Noel
Raffelle, his partner Patrice
Moorfoot and their
children Tahlia, 4, and Anameika, 18 months, of Werribee, west of
Melbourne,
were among those who visited the bridge yesterday.
Ms
Moorfoot said the tragedy had hit
their family
hard because Tahlia was the same age as Darcey.
"The
whole world is shocked and we
share their disbelief,"
she said. "We came here to reflect on how lucky we are to have our own
children."
Witness
accounts of the tragedy
continue to be revealed,
with police now believing the actions of one woman may have saved
Darcey's
two brothers.
The
woman got out of her car and ran
shouting at
the girl's father, Arthur Freeman, as he allegedly dropped the child
from
the top of the bridge about 9am on Thursday.
The
boys, 6 and 2, were sitting in
their father's
car as their terrified sister was carried towards the rail, nearly 60m
above the water.
It is
alleged Mr Freeman got back in
his white Toyota
LandCruiser and drove off after the woman ran at him.
He was
arrested just over an hour
later when he was
found in a distressed state in the foyer of the Commonwealth Law
Courts.
The
theory that Mr Freeman may have
been planning
to kill all three children is believed to have been strengthened by a
chilling
telephone call about the time of Darcey's fatal fall.
Police
sources confirmed a
conversation between Mr
Freeman and his estranged wife, Peta, but would not discuss what was
said.
No
funeral plans have yet been
released.
Documents relating to
West Gate
victim Darcey
Freeman stolen from judge's car
Herald
Sun
February 07, 2009 12:01am
Sensitive
documents stolen from
judge's car
Related to West Gate victim Darcey
Freeman
Police make appeal for witnesses
SENSITIVE
documents relating to West
Gate victim
Darcey Freeman and her father have been stolen from a judge's car in
the
city.
The
documents were taken from a car
belonging to
Family Court Chief Justice Diana Bryant.
The
theft, on Thursday night,
occurred only hours
before Darcey was buried at a private funeral yesterday, the Herald Sun
reports.

Darcey,
4, was allegedly thrown from
the West Gate
Bridge by her father Arthur on January 29, which was to have been her
first
day at school.
The
Herald Sun believes the theft of
the briefcase,
which contained several files, did not involve forced entry.
The car
may have been left open in
Little Collins
St, about 40m west of Spring St.
Police
have been told the theft
occurred between
7pm and midnight, but have not found security footage to identify the
culprit.
A
search of nearby lanes did not find
the briefcase
and police have made an urgent appeal for witnesses.
It is
not known whether the thief
knew of the contents
of the briefcase.
The
documents include transcripts of
the Freemans'
case.
It is
not known if the material
contains psychological
reports.
In a
statement released on Thursday,
Darcey's relatives
said the justice system had ignored their fears about her safety and
had
failed to prevent her death. Chief Justice Bryant confirmed a Family
Court
judge's car had been broken into and personal items, including a
briefcase,
stolen.
"There
were no court files, but the
papers included
a transcript," she said.
Earlier,
Chief Justice Bryant
revealed she had reviewed
all relevant reports relating to the Darcey Freeman case.
She was
to hand over all available
documents to the
federal Attorney-General next week, after he called for a review of the
Freeman matter.
"We'll
co-operate in whatever way in
making available
to him all of the material and events that occurred," she said on ABC
radio.
But she
said the judicial system was
not told of
concerns that Darcey was at risk.
Federal
Attorney-General Robert
McClelland has asked
his department to review the family's case.
"(This
area of the law) is an
extremely difficult
area, and if there is anything we can learn from this tragedy to
improve
how the system is run, we will not hesitate to take the necessary
action,"
Mr McClelland said in a statement.
Victorian
Premier John Brumby
welcomed the review.
"Anybody
who has family or friends
who dealt with
(this area of the law), you know the system isn't perfect," he
said.
"I
think it's very timely to review
this case and
to see the way in which it was managed.
"It's a
federal responsibility and I
think the sooner
that review's undertaken, the better."
Court did not hear concerns
about Darcey's
safety: judge
February 6, 2009
The
head of Australia's Family Court
says relatives
of the young girl thrown from Melbourne's West Gate Bridge did not take
their concerns about the child's safety to the court.
The
chief justice of the Family Court
of Australia,
Diana Bryant QC, made the rare move into public debate after relatives
of Darcey Freeman accused the court system of failing their family.
Darcey,
4, died after plunging almost
60 metres from
the bridge in Melbourne last week. Her father Arthur Phillip Freeman is
facing a murder charge after allegedly throwing her to her death.
It's
believed Darcey was farewelled
at a private
funeral service in Melbourne on Friday.
The day
before her death, Darcey's
parents had reached
an agreement in the Federal Magistrates Court over the amount of time
Mr
Freeman could spend with his three children.
Federal
Attorney-General Robert
McClelland has asked
his department to review the family's case.
Chief
Justice Bryant said the court
orders were made
after an agreement between Darcey's parents was reached.
"The
court obviously has to deal with
issues of risk
concerning children but it can only do so when parties raise those
issues
of risk with the court," she told ABC Radio.
"In
this particular case ... the
orders were made
by consent. That is, they were not made by a decision of a judicial
officer."
Chief
Justice Bryant said a judge
could refuse to
make orders by consent if they were deemed not to be in the interests
of
the child.
"In
this case ... the parties did not
present to
the judicial officer concerned, as part of their case, that this child
was at risk of harm in the father's care," she said.
"The
issues for determination were
how much time
the father should have with the child.
"The
parties actually reached
agreement about that
issue and the judge didn't have to make a decision."
Chief
Justice Bryant said no concerns
were raised
about the children's safety.
"That
was not an issue," she said.
"You
cannot blame the decision."
She
said both parents were in court
when the decision
between them was reached.
"I
would have to assume that if the
mother had concerns
they would have been raised and she would not have agreed to this
decision,
this order being made."
Chief
Justice Bryant said family
breakdown was the
second most stressful event people dealt with, after death.
She
said court hearings added to the
emotional stress
surrounding family breakdowns.
Darcey's
uncle Tim Barnes issued a
statement on Thursday
accusing the court system of letting the family down.
"For
the past two years, the various
authorities
have been made aware of our fear for the safety of the children and
unfortunately
no one would listen," he said.
"We
feel the judicial system has
failed our family
and will continue to fail other families until someone in authority
starts
to take action."
Mr
McClelland said he had asked his
department to
review the "distressing" case.
"Family
law is an extremely difficult
area and if
there is anything we can learn from this tragedy to improve how the
system
is run we will not hesitate to take the necessary action," he said in a
statement.
Darcey's
family has asked The Alannah
and Madeline
Foundation to set up a trust fund after receiving an overwhelming
number
of requests from people wishing to donate money.
The
fund will be used to assist
Darcey's two brothers,
Ben and Jack.
The
foundation will also be looking
into establishing
a children's day in Darcey's memory.
Family of Darcey Freeman,
Melbourne bridge
death girl, speak out. Melbourne four-year-old Darcey Freeman, who
loved
the Rolf Harris song Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport
February 5, 2009
Sophie
Tedmanson in Sydney
The
family of Darcey Freeman, the
four-year-old allegedly
thrown from a bridge by her father in Melbourne, have called for a
national
Children’s Day in Australia “to honour all children taken from us too
early
in their lives”.
Speaking
for the first time since the
tragedy, Darcey’s
family spoke of their “extreme sense of loss and emptiness”.
“We are
in deep mourning,” the family
said in a statement
to Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper. “We will never understand the
reasons
why … sometimes things in life are just not fair.”
In a
touching death notice placed in
the newspaper,
Darcey’s mother, Peta Freeman, said: "My Darling Daughter. My heart
will
always be with you, as you will be with me. We will miss you every day
and remember you with love and laughter."
The
family said that they hoped Darcey’s
death would
not be taken in vain and would love to see an annual event “where
children
have the opportunity to embrace life and enjoy activities whilst having
fun with their families”.
Kevin
Rudd, the Prime Minister,
embraced the idea
and described Darcey's death as “gut wrenching for the entire
nation”.
"People
have been really affected by
this. Anyone
with a touch of humanity in them finds this just unspeakable,” he said.
"You just recoil in horror."
It has
been suggested that the
proposed Children’s
Day could be incorporated into the already existing annual Children’s
Week.
"Out of
such an appalling tragedy,
how do we turn
it to good?" Mr Rudd said. "Cause people to reflect on the protection
of
little ones ... I think it's a good idea."
Darcey
was allegedly thrown 190ft (57
metres) into
a shallow, muddy river, from the busy West Gate bridge during peak hour
traffic on January 29. She miraculously survived the fall but died four
hours later from massive internal injuries.
Darcey’s
maternal uncles, Tim and Joe
Barnes, described
their niece as an active girl who played Auskick (a junior version of
Australian
Rules football), tennis and would spend hours jumping on the
trampoline.
They spoke of Darcey’s love of dancing and her passion for music, in
particular
the Rolf Harris classic Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport, which was her
favourite
song. They also said that she adored her brothers, Ben, 7, and Jack, 2,
who are being cared for by their mother, Peta Freeman.
“Even
though she was only four, she
was determined
and strong-willed,” Tim Barnes told the Herald Sun. “She knew her own
mind
and was prepared to always stand up for what she believed in.”
He said
that like most young girls,
the pretty, blonde
Darcey loved clothes and liked to dress in whatever she wanted “even if
it meant wearing pink Wellington boots to play tennis”.
Joe
Barnes said that his niece had
given the family
“a lot of fun”. “She was into everything. She will never be forgotten.
She had an effect on everybody,” he said.
Darcey’s
father, Arthur Freeman, an
IT professional
who was involved in a custody dispute with his estranged wife, has been
charged with her murder. The 35-year-old is on suicide watch and has
reportedly
not uttered a word since being taken into custody.
Darcey’s
family said that they had
been overwhelmed
by the public support from around the world: “We wish to thank the
public
for their heartfelt sympathy."
A
public memorial service will be
held in honour
of Darcey. Her family will also be holding a private memorial
service.

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