A father who killed his baby daughter in a murder-suicide at the Whispering Wall deceived the prison where he was held to call his ex-partner and manipulate her into dropping serious domestic violence charges, an inquest has heard.
WARNING: This story contains details that readers may find distressing.
Henry Shepherdson called the mother of his nine-month-old daughter Kobi Shepherdson from Mount Gambier Prison 149 times in breach of a non-contact order to coach and pressure her to drop criminal charges, including threats to kill and false imprisonment.
Deputy State Coroner Ian White is holding an inquest into the death of the pair at the Barossa Reservoir in April 2021.
In the recorded prison calls, which were played to the Coroners Court on Thursday, Shepherdson became emotional as he love-bombed Kobi’s mother and told her he had “missed her so much” and was “so sorry”.
“You have to keep this between us though, OK?,” he said.
“That man you fell in love with at the beginning, he’s back.
“I need to come home to you guys.”
The court heard he called Kobi’s mother 14 times that day and, on other occasions Kobi could be heard in the background.
In the calls, he can he heard telling her that if the charges proceeded, there was no way they could be proved and that his lawyer would make her look like a liar in court.
Shepherdson called Kobi’s mother from prison almost 150 times. (ABC South East SA: Sandra Morello)
“What evidence would the prosecution put forward other than your word?” he asked.
“There is no way I’m going to be found guilty because there’s no evidence to show that I am. It’s just you saying something.”
He also told her that because she knew he had previously served time for violence offences she had made him out to be “more of a monster than I am”.
He also blamed his abuse of prescription drugs for his threatening behaviour.
Tributes to baby Kobi Shepherdson at the Whispering Wall at the Barossa Reservoir where she was killed. (ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)
In one of the calls, Kobi’s mother said she was fearful she or Kobi could be harmed.
Shepherdson also told Kobi’s mother she could not tell anyone he had been contacting her, or that she had been pressured.
“If they ask you if you’ve been in contact with Henry, you have to say ‘no’,” he said.
“The only way I’m getting out of here sooner is going to depend on what you do.”
He told Kobi’s mother he did not want to lose his child or disappoint her.
Calls to a friend, and his sister, were also played to the court, in which Shepherdson can be heard complaining about the prospect of being in jail for a lengthy period.
He also denied making threats about Kobi.
“I don’t even know if I could harm a child, let alone … kill a child,” he said.
Detective Brevet Sargeant Paul Dawson, who prepared the SA Police report for the coroner, said the investigation around the circumstances of the deaths were “more complex” than a normal investigation.
He told the court he analysed all of the calls Shepherdson made from prison and said he was “persistent in what he was trying to get her to do”.
Shepherdson was ‘narcissistic’ and ‘manipulated’ Kobi’s mother
When asked, he agreed Shepherdson was “narcissistic” and that Shepherdson had “completely manipulated” Kobi’s mother.
He told the court Kobi and her mother should have been declared “high risk” in police files and referred to a multi-agency service.
But, he said that referral was not made because the officers who dealt with Kobi’s mother had classified her situation as “medium risk”.
The court has previously heard that on the day of the murder-suicide, Shepherdson had successfully applied to have a non-contact clause removed before he took Kobi to the Whispering Wall, where they died.
The court also heard Shepherdson had previously convinced a different former partner to drop charges against him.
The inquest is continuing.
