Father ‘planned’ to kill

THE mother of Charlotte Lukendlay, who died in suspicious circumstances at just 11 weeks, has told a coronial inquest she believes her thenhusband “planned” to kill their child.

Gaurav Endlay put his daughter Charlotte to bed on the evening of February 21, 2016 — four days before she died — and found her off-colour and lifeless about an hour later.

Charlotte’s mother Rongrong “Angel” Lu yesterday gave evidence, saying she had been preparing for the family’s move to Wagga Wagga on the evening Charlotte was found unresponsive.

Ms Lu said Charlotte did not usually sleep in the early evening but that night Mr Endlay — who denies responsibility for the infant’s death — took her to the spare bedroom of their Newnham unit, which did not contain her cot, and put her down.

Ms Lu said Charlotte’s skin colour had “totally changed” and she “became floppy” by the time Mr Endlay brought her out about an hour later.

The inquest heard Mr Endlay had been unhappy the couple’s child had been born a girl and he showed little interest in learning to look after Charlotte, but would often try to “control” her sleeping and feeding times.

Ms Lu also alleged Mr Endlay once punched their daughter in front of her and shook the baby for about 10 seconds.

“I stopped him and he just told me he’s playing with the baby,” she said.

The inquest heard Mr Endlay did not help while paramedics treated Charlotte in Launceston and, after she was taken to Hobart, he dropped Ms Lu off at the hospital and did not go in.

Ms Lu said Mr Endlay “insisted” the family could not postpone their move to NSW, even after Charlotte was rushed to the Royal Hobart Hospital and the parents were told their baby’s brain had been starved of oxygen.

Medical experts had previously told the inquest Charlotte had sustained bone fractures on at least three separate occasions before she died.

“In my mind, he planned to do this thing. I grew up in a warm and loving family and I (could) never expect a person can be so evil and kill his own baby.” Ms Lu told the court.

The inquest heard Mr Endlay drank alcohol daily and had been socially and financially controlling, abusive and occasionally violent throughout his relationship with Ms Lu, which began about a month after they met while studying at the University of Tasmania in Launceston in 2009.

Ms Lu said she was the couple’s sole income provider for much of their time together. They married in 2011 and moved to Darwin in mid-2012 after Mr Endlay joined the Army but, the inquest heard, he drunkenly assaulted her in July 2014 and was briefly detained by police. The couple moved back to Tasmania after family violence charges against Mr Endlay were dropped, but the court heard his violent behaviour continued.

Mr Endlay took the stand and denied his relationship with Ms Lu was a violent one.

He is due to conclude his evidence when the inquest resumes on March 21.