A mother has been sentenced to seven years in prison for the death of her three-year-old daughter who was left alone in a hot car for over five hours in November 2020.
Laura Rose Peverill, 39, from Townsville, Queensland, Australia, will be eligible for parole in under two years.
The court heard that on that fateful day, the temperature inside the car reached a scorching 51.5 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit), making survival impossible. Rylee Rose Black suffered greatly, eventually succumbing to heat stroke, with a body temperature of 41 degrees Celsius (about 106 degrees Fahrenheit).
Additional reports indicate that on the day’s events leading to the incident, after dropping off her three other daughters at school around 9:50 am, Peverill and her boyfriend, Aaron Hill, returned home.
An argument in the car ensued, during which Rylee had fallen asleep in her booster seat.
When they reached home, they parked the car in a shadeless driveway but forgot Rylee in the back seat while they watched an episode of the Netflix series “Shameless.”
It was only when Peverill went to pick up her other children from school that she discovered Rylee, covered in vomit and unresponsive. The child was rushed to the hospital, where she died.
Rylee’s father, Peter Black, shared the devastating impact of losing his daughter. He recounted how he sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to her during her funeral, apologizing for not being able to save her.
Peverill’s defense attorney, Victoria Trafford-Walker, highlighted her client’s long-standing struggles with mental health and alcohol issues. She explained that Peverill was dealing with the stress of moving in with her then-boyfriend on the day of Rylee’s death.
