‘My toddler drowned after which stalker dad or mum signed her up for swimming classes’
A mother whose toddler drowned in a spa bath while she was at work was dealt more heartbreak when a cruel parent signed her late child up for swimming lessons just days later.
Tahlia Kay Murphy’s 17-month-old drowned at their family home in Gracemere, Australia, in September 2022 but what followed was a tragic and cruel case of stalking.
Evil Alana Jade Osborne, 29, signed both Tahlia and her deceased daughter up for swimming lessons just two days after the tot’s tragic death. She appeared before Brisbane court on Friday where it was heard she unleashed a year-long display of “mental torture” for the victim.
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She was handed down a two-year suspended sentence having pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful stalking, harassment, intimidation or abuse against the Central Queensland mother. She appeared alongside co-accused Jessie Ella Ayling.
The court heard how between August 12, 2022 and December 7, 2023, the evil duo created several social media accounts to “make a mockery” of the toddler’s tragic death
The Courier Mail reports how the young mum also lost her job the same day her baby girl drowned in the hot tub at their Rockhampton home and was harrassed relentlessly by another woman online just two days after the tragedy.
Mrs Murphy is not accused of any wrongdoing over the death of her child. The court too heard that as part of Osborne’s harassment, she registered Mrs Murphy in a swim school which then contacted her about completing lessons, causing her great distress.
The court was told the pair sent emails to the manager of Mrs Murphy’s workplace, abusing her and making demands for her to be dismissed and sending pizza deliveries to Mrs Murphy’s house.
Mrs Murphy’s victim impact statement said her ability to grieve properly was impeded by the harassment and that she has required psychological treatment as a result.
“She said that the harassment and torment caused by yourself and the co-defendant, during one of the most stressful and heartbreaking times of her life, made her feel mad, angry and stressed and she contemplated taking her own life on multiple occasions,” Magistrate Annette Hennessey read out to the court.
The police prosecutor, Mr Shiyaad, told the court the method used by Osborne and Ayling to inflict the “mental torture’’ on Mrs Murphy was complex and relentless.
He called the campaign of harassment “inexcusable” saying, “these were cold, calculated and premeditated acts.” The court, however, heard that in retaliation for their bullying campaign, Mrs Murphy instigated a revenge attack on Ayling and Osborne with the aid of her husband and a third co-accused.
On February 26, 2024, Mr and Mrs Murphy were sentenced to a two-and-a-half-year suspended sentence for firebombing Osborne’s car, with a third co-accused. Magistrate Hennessey sentenced Osborne, who pleaded guilty, to 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years and imposed a five-year restraining order on Osborne to not contact Ms Murphy.
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