A father accused of murdering his three-year-old son was trying to rid him of aliens and demons before paramedics found the boy dead, a court has been told. The allegations were made by police during a bail hearing for the man’s wife in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday.
Esther Adongo Timberlake, better known as Esther Arunga in her home country of Kenya, is charged with accessory after the fact to murder. Her husband Quincy Timberlake, also 34, has been charged with murder over the boy’s death. He is a former Kenyan presidential hopeful. Emergency services pronounced their son Sinclair Timberlake dead when they arrived at the family’s Kallangur townhouse early on June 18. Mr and Mrs Timberlake told police the three-year-old boy had fallen down the stairs while playing with a sibling.
However, police allege Mrs Timberlake changed her version of events multiple times, and privately told them that she believed her husband was mentally unwell. Court documents reveal Mr Timberlake admitted himself to Brisbane’s Prince Charles Mental Health hospital on July 3. A week later he was made an involuntary patient.
Four days later, Mrs Timberlake told officers her husband was pushing on the boy’s stomach repeatedly because he believed he had been possessed by aliens and demons. She said her husband “was speaking as if he was attempting to save [Sinclair] from alien embryos implanted in his stomach”, according to police documents tendered in court.
“She then observed the father of the deceased punch the deceased in the stomach with his fist,” the documents said. The boy was then thrown against a wall, before he was showered, dressed and left on his bed. Police said Sinclair’s initial post mortem results were not consistent with a fall down the stairs. He had suffered internal injuries, bruising to his arms and torso. He also had a number of other injuries Mrs Timberlake said were caused by traditional Kenyan healing techniques prior to June 18.
Mrs Timberlake was granted bail and will return to court on October 20. Her bail conditions include that she surrender her passport, report to police twice a week, not be closer than 500 metres to an airport and have no contact with her husband. Mrs Timberlake declined to comment when she was released from the Brisbane watch house. Police only laid charges against Mr Timberlake last week, before Mrs Timberlake was arrested on Thursday. They both intend to fight their respective charges.
Outside court, Mrs Timberlake’s lawyer Chris Ford said his client was struggling with the stress of losing a child. “Clearly we are pleased that the court saw fit to give bail today,” he said. “Ms Timberlake is understandably upset about being arrested. She’s got a lot to deal with at this present time, particularly with two children to look after.” “She’s not coping very well … It’s a difficult situation for any mother, to have lost a child. It’s a very unusual case but it’s a tragic case.”
Mr Timberlake is a former Kenyan presidential hopeful who had stated his intention to contest the country’s 2017 elections. His wife was a former television anchor and barrister. The pair said they were forced to flee to Australia after being persecuted in their home country.
Last week, Mr Timberlake’s lawyers said their client was a “loving father” and that the boy’s death was “tragic”. “There is of course more to this tragedy than can presently be disclosed and we would caution against any prejudgment of this case,” the lawyers said in a statement.
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Father charged with murder of boy, 3, was ‘saving him from aliens’
Thomas Chamberlin
The Courier-Mail
September 12, 2014 5:43PM
A FORMER Kenyan presidential candidate told his television star wife he was saving their three-year-old son from aliens after he punched him in the stomach on the night he died.
Police yesterday charged Esther Timberlake, 34, with accessory after the fact over the death of her son in a Kallangur townhouse, in Brisbane’s north, in June.
Her husband, former Kenyan presidential candidate Quincy Timberlake, was charged with murder and arrested earlier this month.
Timberlake, a qualified layer, was granted bail this morning on the condition that she not approach any international port or have any contact with her husband.
She walked from the watchhouse with her lawyer just after midday.
Police allege Timberlake gave different versions of what happened on the night of her son’s death, including that her husband had claimed he was trying to save the boy from aliens.
She told ambulance officers in a phone call their son had fallen downstairs and had vomited, police allege.
She handed the phone to her husband who told them the child was vomiting and breathing.
Police stated that both parents appeared “calm and composed” during the call.
Police identified the mother stating to her husband “he’s dead” while on the telephone, they allege.
The boy had injuries to his arms and legs, including bruising and scarring and had a large lineal injury to the right side of his head.
Police allege the injuries were inconsistent with the account of what happened on the stairs.
Police allege she originally told them she heads the boy scream “mummy, mummy” after hearing a thud noise at the house about 11.30pm on June 17.
She said the father found the boy on an internal staircase face down.
The boy was given Panadol, according to her account, while marks on his face were due to an iron hitting his face two days earlier. Other scars on the boy happened overseas while living in Dubai and Kenya.
She subsequently told police her husband told her he was “pumping poison” from the child and he was being “chased by demons, soldiers and the parents of his wife wanting to kill him”.
She also claimed scars on the boy could be due to a healing technique called “coining” and from “cupping”.
Police said photographs of the boy arriving in Australia showed he didn’t have any injuries.
In another interview, 26 days after the boy’s death, Timberlake told police she saw her husband punch her boy in the bathroom and said it “would have taken a grown man down”.
Timberlake said she saw her son fly backwards and try to seek shelter.
She then claimed she picked up her lifeless boy who was then taken by her husband and thrown against a wall between the bathroom and toilet.
Timberlake told police in a statement her husband had claimed he had saved the boy from aliens. She said he was speaking “as is he was attempting to save the deceased from alien embryos implanted in his stomach”.
Outside of court defence lawyer Chris Ford said his client would be defending the serious charges.
“In light of what has happened, she is not coping very well,” he said.
“It’s a difficult situation for any mother to have lost a child, she has got two other children to take care of.
“She has got a husband who is in custody, clearly it’s not an ideal situation. But the child has died and it’s a tragedy.
“And unfortunately this is a very unusual case, but it is a tragic case, and we can’t forget that there is a child there that won’t be with us any longer.
The matter has been adjourned to October 20.
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