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SA Mother Sentenced to 17 Years and 20 Days for Fatal Neglect of Six-Year-Old Daughter

The sentence followed evidence of severe malnutrition, squalor, recorded phone calls.

Overview

  • South Australia’s Supreme Court sentenced Crystal Hanley after she admitted three counts of criminal neglect involving Charlie Nowland and two older siblings.
  • Judge Sandi McDonald said Hanley "failed as a mother at the most fundamental level" and found she prevented others from assisting the children.
  • Hanley received a non-parole period of 12 years, making her first eligible for release at about age 67.
  • Evidence described Charlie’s emaciation and lice infestation, unclean and cluttered living conditions, and a childhood without school or medical care.
  • Phone recordings captured Hanley mocking Charlie’s inability to walk, and paramedics found the six-year-old unresponsive on July 15, 2022 before she died shortly after hospital admission.