Parents Charged with Manslaughter in Toddler's Crash Death

The parents of a three-year-old boy who died from head injuries at a police station following a car crash north of the Gold Coast have been charged with manslaughter. Caden Case succumbed at Beenleigh Police Station on October 25 after the vehicle carrying his family veered off the road and struck bushland around 5 a.m. Authorities allege his mother was behind the wheel at the time.

Caden was traveling with his mother, Aneshia Daisy Case, then 22, his father, Samuel Ian Paterson, 25, and a one-year-old boy in a white Mazda sedan. A witness observed the car swerve and crash, then drove Case and the injured toddler to the station. Officers there performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the foyer, but paramedics were unable to revive him. Police later found Paterson and the younger child at a nearby Beenleigh residence. The one-year-old, who was uninjured, underwent hospital checks as a precaution.

At the scene, Case reported that her former partner had been armed with a gun, prompting initial concerns. However, investigators found no evidence of a weapon. Police now assert that Case was driving without a license, and the crash occurred after she and the children traveled from...