SA Police call for change in no contact orders after Kobi Shepherdson death

Police say the “voice of children” caught up in domestic violence should be represented by an independent party in the fallout from the horrific murder of baby Kobi Shepherdson.

Kobi’s father, Henry Shepherdson, murdered the nine-month-old girl in April 2021 in a murder-suicide at the Whispering Wall dam in South Australia’s Barossa Valley.

At an inquest into Kobi’s death in Adelaide on Monday, Deputy State Coroner Ian White heard a court order had been put in place prohibiting Shepherdson from contacting Kobi and Kobi’s mother following his arrest and imprisonment for domestic violence charges in December 2020.

But the no-contact order was altered at the request of Kobi’s mother.

On April 21, 2021, the courts granted Shepherdson limited access to Kobi.

That same day, he took Kobi to The Whispering Wall where he killed his daughter and himself.

South Australian Police Assistant Commissioner John Venditto, testifying before the inquest, said Kobi’s mum was the victim of “coercive control” from Shepherdson and her letter of support should not have been enough to change the order.

“The interim order for the killer was lifted,” he told the inquest.

“Not full access, but it was lifted enough for him to get access to the baby.

“In domestic violence situations, where there is a vulnerable person, and by that I mean a very young person, we should examine how and why an offender moves from a no contact order to some contact order without any psychological or psychiatric assessment.

“A change in circumstances where contact is allowed should only be undertaken when the voice of the child is heard through an independent examination or representative.”

In Australia, one in 12 homicide victims are under the age of 15, with a majority of the victims babies, he said.

Shepherdson’s domestic violence charges included false imprisonment and threats to kill, the court was told.

He was taken into custody, but the inquest heard Shepherdson had deceived Mount Gambier prison to make 149 phone calls to Kobi’s mum, pressuring her to drop the charges.

In February 2021, Kobi’s mum signed a form to have the charges against Shepherdson dropped and he was released in March.

“What we are not privy to is the nature of coercive control,” Assistant Commissioner Venditto said.

“It might be along the lines of, ‘you know they can’t keep me in here (prison) forever. You know I’m going to get out’.

“I think victims who are put into that situation are in a really difficult spot.”

Domestic violence helplines

The assistant commissioner said in “highly volatile” domestic violence situations, victims were not in a position to think rationally about threats from their partners.

“I think we have a duty there to say (to the domestic violence victim), ‘well you might say it’s okay, but you are also being coercively controlled whether you know it or not … so we should have someone for the child … something rather than just today it is one thing, tomorrow it is completely other.”

Monday’s hearing revealed a devastating chain of events had preceded Kobi’s death.

Three risk assessments surrounding the family had been downgraded and the police did not have any intelligence or evidence of Shepherdson’s illegal calls from prison.

Assistant Commissioner Venditto said a “main issue” for the police was how to ensure domestic violence victims felt comfortable confiding with them about breaches to their protection.

“How do we influence a victim to confide in us?” he said.

“Where a victim who may themselves breach an order is not prosecuted … that’s very important. Maybe we need to communicate that better. That they don’t get in trouble if they tell us.”

The inquest continues.