A man who beat his five-year-old son named Caiden to death has been jailed for 14 years after the court heard the boy was horrifically abused over several days before being told 'get up, Caido' in his last moments.
Jason Ross Allan Fourmile, 28, pleaded guilty to eight charges in the Supreme Court in Cairns on Thursday following the death of his son, Caiden, in August 2022.
Of the charges, six related to the abuse of his son and two were for breaches of Domestic Violence Orders.
During sentencing on Monday, Justice James Henry made a point of telling Fourmile his manslaughter conviction wasn't 'merely a case of negligence'.
'You took the life of your five-year-old son,' Justice Henry said, the ABC reported.
'That poor little boy must have endured prolonged pain and fear at your hands, his father.'
The court heard Caiden had been living with his mother in Cairns but moved east to Yarrabah, an Aboriginal community, to live with his father when she commenced her studies.
Fourmile gave up his job to look after Caiden, who moved into a bedroom of the house shared with Fourmile's partner and three other children.
'During this period in which [the child] was in the defendant's care, the defendant was physically abusive toward him,' Crown prosecutor Dejana Kovac said.
In the days leading up to Caiden's hospitalisation on August 17, 2022, Ms Kovac claimed Fourmile would leave Caiden locked alone in a room.
The father was also physically abusive, 'smacking him on the bottom, cheek, arm, shoulder and upper leg, pushing him to the floor, grabbing his leg and hitting his head against a brick wall'.
Other occupants of the home 'heard loud bangs coming from the bedroom and the defendant yelling at him for doing something wrong and Caiden crying'.
'He was a very small child, he weighed only 20kg. The defendant on the other hand was about 180cm tall and was of very proportionate build,' Ms Kovac said.
Caiden began showing signs of serious injury from the abuse - including sluggishness and soiling himself - before the last fatal beating on August 17.
Other people in the home claimed to have heard banging before Fourmile yelled 'get up, Caido' and took the boy to the shower.
One went to check on the situation and found Caiden unresponsive and Fourmile 'emotionally distraught'.
Caiden was taken by ambulance to Yarrabah Hospital where he was intubated. He was then taken to Townsville by Lifeflight and underwent extensive emergency brain surgery to relieve swelling and abdominal surgery to remove 15cm of his bowel.
The court heard the removed bowel had been 'extremely compromised'.
Caiden was put on life support but showed no signs of brain activity when his sedation wore off.
'Life support was removed and he sadly passed away,' Ms Kovac said.
Caiden passed on August 22, 2022.
Doctors and forensic pathologists found extensive injuries across little Caiden's body, including finger marks around his neck and a broken collarbone, which were inflicted several days before he was hospitalised.
Some open wounds on Caiden's legs appeared to have been caused by Fourmile beating him with his mobile phone with police later finding blood on the device.
Fourmile lied to police upon being arrested, at one point claiming Caiden became unresponsive after choking on food.
Caiden's mother, Bianca Allan, told the court during sentencing submissions that she had suffered 'endless and paralysing' pain and trauma from losing her son.
'The pain is constant and so is the reminder that I will never get to hold my little boy in my arms again,' she said.
'I’m working hard to heal but those scars live in my mind every day.'
Ms Allan is also haunted by 'intrusive thoughts' about her son's final hours with the horror 'seeping into every part' of her life.
'My life has been divided into before and after; I wake up from nightmares, drenched with fear and anxiety hearing the cries of my little baby boy,' she said.
'This hasn’t only taken my peace but stolen my sense of self.'
'What Caiden would have been thinking haunts me to this day. This was a grievous violation that cannot be justified under any circumstances.'
Fourmile hung his head while listening to her testimony from just metres away in the court dock.
Ms Kovac told the court Fourmile had a history of domestic violence dating back to 2016, when he was 18 years old.
Those offences included multiple breaches of DVOs and several failed attempts of intervention.
Justice Henry considered Fourmile's troubled childhood - during which he was subject to physical and sexual abuse, his poor mental health and substance abuse.
Fourmile will be eligible for parole in 2033, having already served three-and-a-half years behind bars.