Leonie Astra Hutchinson, 18 mths, Missing From Scone, NSW since 1999

[blighted star]

Another case being discussed at the moment reminded me of this little girl. This isn't intended as a comment on any of the discussion in the other thread. This kind of thing is as rare here as it is anywhere else. It's just such a horrible, twisted story - one, maybe two, kids gone & pretty much forgotten before they even would've reached 18.





I'll post these in chronological order for some background

http://m.northernstar.com.au/news/mi...h-safe/294820/

HEAVILY pregnant woman whose child went missing in 2001 and has never been found, was picked up in Byron Bay last night after a massive police search. Kate Elizabeth Hutchinson, 36, who is mentally ill, went missing from the Richmond Clinic at Lismore on Tuesday morning. Ms Hutchinson is due to give birth tomorrow and police, holding grave concerns for the welfare of the woman and her unborn child, on Tuesday appealed to the Northern Rivers community for help in finding her. Ms Hutchinson used her ATM card in Byron Bay yesterday morning and police there joined the Richmond Local Area Command search.

The Northern Star understands Ms Hutchinson has given birth to a number of children, but they have been removed from her custody by the Department of Community Services (DoCS). One of her children, Leonie Astra Hutchinson, was last seen in 2001 in Scone, NSW, when she was 18 months old. According to media reports since her disappearance, the toddler has not been sighted since she was taken by her mother to a Scone medical centre for an immunisation shot. Police reportedly did not learn of her disappearance until early in 2004 when they were investigating another matter.



They have been hunting for evidence of what may have happened to her ever since, and Ms Hutchinson was reportedly unable to assist them. Leonie, who would now be nine, remains on the NSW Police Missing Persons Register. Police last night thanked the public for their help in finding Ms Hutchinson. ?The missing person was located in the Byron Bay area by Byron Bay police at 5pm this afternoon,? Richmond LAC Inspector Greg Moore said in a statement. ?There is no further action required regarding this matter. ?Richmond LAC police wish to thank all involved in the search for Ms Hutchinson.? Insp Moore said Ms Hutchinson and her unborn child were believed to be well when she was found

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sto...-1225767344587

"STOP MY DAUGHTER HAVING BABIES"

SHE'S had six, possibly seven children, all to different fathers. Four were sent to live with their grandmother and at least one, police believe, has been murdered. Kate Elizabeth Hutchinson, 36, gave birth to her latest child in a Lismore psychiatric ward 10 days* ago. The baby boy has since been removed from her care. Now, her estranged mother is begging authorities to stop her getting pregnant again. "Somebody, please, somebody has to do something to stop her from having any more babies,'' Helen Hutchinson said last week. "It's as much for her sake as it is for the children's. I love my daughter very much, but she is a danger-ous person.''

Mrs Hutchinson, 65, has cared for her daughter's children since Kate had her eldest, Matthew, at just 16. They have myriad emotional and physical disabilities that Mrs Hutchinson blames on her daughter's alleged drug and alcohol abuse throughout her pregnancies. Matthew, 20, and his brother Peter, 18, are autistic. Daniel was born with muscular dystrophy and died four years ago at the age of 10. Their five-year-old sister, Evy, has an emotional-detachment disorder. * "Anyone who says* marijuana is harmless only has to look at Kate and her children,'' Mrs Hutchinson* said. "Kate herself suffers from drug-induced delusions and psychosis. She has many, many mental health issues.''

It was during one of these psychotic episodes that Leonie Astra Hutchinson disappeared, police believe. The last independent sighting of the toddler was in Scone in December, 2001, when she was 18 months old. Incredibly, police had no idea she was missing until January, 2004 when they were investigating another "unrelated matter''. This was because* authorities were under the impression that Leonie was in the safe custody of Mrs Hutchinson. She remembers: ``They rang me up one day and said, `You've got Leonie, haven't you?' and I said, `No, I haven't' and they said, `Oh ...'.''

Hunter Valley detective Inspector Tim Seymour has been searching for the little girl ever since. "Kate has told us several versions of the same story, which is that she gave Leonie to a wealthy family,'' he said. "Tragically, we have found absolutely no evidence that suggests* this is true, and no evidence* the girl is still alive. "What we need now is for Kate to tell us where her body is, but she is unwilling to do that.'' According to Mrs Hutchinson, Kate developed an obsession with the occult, which prompted her to join a group involved in satanic worship. As unbelievable as it sounds, one of the police lines of inquiry is the possibility that Leonie was killed as part of some dark, satanic ritual.

"There is a subculture of devil worshipping in this country,'' Insp Seymour said. "We can't discount that it has something to do with what happened to Leonie.'' The Sunday Telegraph tracked down Kate after she was discharged from the Richmond Clinic, a psychiatric unit attached to Lismore Base Hospital, last week. She had been wandering the Northern Rivers area since her release in a highly distressed state, refusing to meet in person but agreeing to talk over the telephone. "I didn't kill Leonie,'' she said. ``All I want is my little girl back safe, and me safe. There are people out there. Groups. There is such evil. You have no idea of the evil.'' There may be a further disturbing twist to this story.

Mrs Hutchinson told The Sunday Telegraph something* she has never revealed before because she can't digest it* mentally:* there could be a second missing child. "It was near the end of 2006 and I was (seeking) custody of Evy,'' Mrs Hutchinson* said. "Kate came (along) and I could see* she was heavily pregnant, seven or eight months. It was such a shock, such a shock. But she was pregnant. My friend was with me and she saw it too. "She* disappeared for several months and, I suppose, had the baby. I don't know what happened to it. I can't go there. Leonie, yes, I believe she is no longer with us, but another baby? "No, if she had it, it must be safe somewhere. I can't think otherwise. I just can't go there - it's too much.'' When told of this* previously unknown pregnancy, Insp Seymour expressed shock: "It's unthinkable. We'll have to chase it up with Lismore Police.''

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/44...nd-angel-note/

[blighted star]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/new...-1226220369664

A HANDWRITTEN note discovered at the house of the mother of missing toddler Leonie Astra Hutchinson suggested the child was already dead.

That was the opinion offered today at an inquest into Leonie's disappearance by Senior Constable Michael Morrall, who initially headed the strike force established to investigate the case.

Mr Morrall told Deputy State Coroner Hugh Dillon that police searched the house of Leonie's mother, Kate, shortly after their investigation commenced in 2004.

They found the girl's "blue book" - a medical record - which had no entries after late 2001 when the child went missing.

Ms Hutchinson has always claimed her daughter is alive and well, living with friends at an undisclosed location.

But Sen Const Morrall said a note also found during the search suggested otherwise.

The note read: "Have good memories my angel Leonie. I love you".

"It indicated to me that Leonie may be deceased," Sen Const Morrall said.

"She is referring to memories - 'my angel' - as if she may be in heaven."

The inquest also heard this morning from a mental health nurse who visited Ms Hutchinson shortly before Leonie's disappearance.

He said both Ms Hutchison and Leonie appeared fine at that time.

The inquest continues.

What happened to baby Leonie?

Earlier at the inquest

Since she vanished, Leonie's mother Kate Hutchison has told friends various stories about what had become of her child and it wasn't for another two years that police became aware she was missing.

The inquest heard yesterday that Ms Hutchinson joined a witches coven on the Central Coast prior to Leonie's birth in August 1999.

Detective Sergeant David Frith said police were aware that she had possibly been involved in satanic and ritual matters but did not elaborate on what they were or how they were relevant to Leonie's disappearance.

By the time of Leonie's birth, Ms Hutchinson had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and other mental health problems. For the next two years she lived the life of a recluse, rarely letting her daughter outside to play or make friends. The little girl was last seen between August and December 2001.

People who asked Ms Hutchinson what had happened to Leonie were told she had gone to live with friends in the country, on the Central Coast or in northern NSW or Queensland.

Police later discovered that Ms Hutchinson had continued to receive a government parenting allowance after the disappearance, collecting almost $100,000 in benefits.

Sgt Frith said officers chased up leads in each of the locations where Leonie had allegedly been sent and tried to track her down using medical and education records.

Police also searched Ms Hutchinson's unit and conducted a search of the nearby area but all to no avail.

"The reality is, in a factual sense, all that information leads to a big cul de sac," Sgt Frith said.

"There is nothing valuable to investigators to confirm Leonie's continued existence."

Benjamin Turner, a former partner of Ms Hutchinson, who believes he may be Leonie's father, said he broke up with Ms Hutchinson about the time she fell pregnant. However, he said in the few times he saw his former partner after Leonie was born, she seemed like a good mother who looked after the baby.

The inquest heard Ms Hutchinson had intended to sit in on yesterday's hearing in the Hunter Valley but due to financial constraints and fact she was given only a week's notice she could not attend. She is expected to be the last witness to give evidence.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/44...uest-of-fears/

THE grandmother of missing Scone toddler Leonie Hutchinson walked in on her daughter holding another child’s face under a tap so he couldn’t breathe, court documents reveal. Helen Hutchinson, who has been estranged from daughter Kate Hutchinson for more than a decade, suspected that the young mother was suffering post-natal depression. The grandmother told police in formal statements of her fear that her daughter was involved in witchcraft or satanic cults and drug taking well before she gave birth to Leonie in 1999, her fourth child to different fathers.

In one statement, Helen Hutchinson tells of being at home with a friend about three months after Kate had her first child, at the age of 16, when she heard screaming coming from the bathroom. ‘‘I saw that Kate had [the child] in the bath with the shower going straight on his face so he couldn’t breathe,’’ Helen Hutchinson told police. ‘‘When we came in Kate just dropped him and took off. I think that she may have been suffering from post-natal depression at the time.’’ Helen Hutchinson also spoke of a major change in her daughter’s behaviour about 1996, three years before Leonie was born.

Her police statement said she thought Kate was ‘‘acting very bizarre’’ and would get reports from her three grandchildren. ‘‘The boys said she was putting curses on things and sticking things into dolls,’’ the statement said. ‘‘Her paintings were deathlike and she was watching horrible videos. ‘‘Kate would go off and the boys would jump out the window and come around to me. ‘‘They would say ‘mum is going berserk’.’’ Months later, Kate Hutchinson abandoned the boys and headed to Melbourne and they were placed into the custody of their maternal grandmother, the statement said.

Helen Hutchinson’s statements form a part of a seven-folder brief which was tendered as part of proceedings at this week’s inquest into the disappearance and suspected death of her granddaughter, Leonie Hutchinson. Kate Hutchinson has repeatedly told authorities Leonie is still alive and living safe and well with a family. But she has failed to identify the family or where they live. Leonie has not been seen since August 2001, although she was not discovered as being missing by authorities until March 2004. The inquest heard this week of Kate Hutchinson’s obsession with a ‘‘wolfman’’ who was out to get her as well as trying to find a man she described as the ‘‘Chosen One’’ who could help her conceive a baby girl. Kate and Helen Hutchinson are expected to be called to give evidence in May.

http://news.optuszoo.com.au/2013/12/...ppear-forever/

<<<snipped>>>

A coronial inquest stresses at the outset it is no Supreme Court. No one walks into the room on trial for the taking of someone’s life. Its purpose is as clinical in its approach as the work done next door at Glebe Morgue – to establish a time, place and manner of death. But for those subpoenaed and called to the stand inside the sterile walls of Glebe Coroner’s Court, it can be daunting. Conversations, passing remarks and trailed-off silences take on a new, sinister meaning. A witness is asked to take their memory and press on it over and over again to remember something – anything – which may prove significant. The minute behaviour and tone of a conversation, details which would slip from anyone’s mind as years and months have passed, suddenly become crucial.

It was the case when one such friend, who hasn’t seen or spoken to Kate Hutchinson in several years, was called to the witness box earlier this week. Kate Elizabeth Hutchinson. Picture: Media Police Source: Supplied Family friend Mary Kathleen Knight paused, having just recalled and recounted everything she could of a decade-old talk she had had with Kate Hutchinson. “No one wants to believe where this is all going,” an upset Mary Knight said. She agreed with a suggestion by Hutchinson’s lawyer that there is “a black cloud” hanging over the name and reputation of the woman once known to her group of friends as Rainbow. “I always wanted to know the truth about Leonie. If I knew it, I’d say. I’ve always wanted to know the facts,” Mary Knight said.

Her husband also said he was surprised at Kate’s reaction to a local news article about Leonie. “I said to her they’re as good as accusing you of something,” Brian Knight told the inquest. “I offered to drive her (into town) to clear it up … tell (the police) where the baby is or what’s happened and we’ll put this to bed. She said to me ‘it’s not that easy’.” Brian Knight said he’d thought Leonie was living in Coffs Harbour or Byron Bay but couldn’t remember the basis for his belief. “It was never mentioned about getting her back and I never heard her say that she’d been to visit her,” he said. “She just said to us the child’s with family and is safe.”

Mary Knight agreed she’d felt “a strong suspicion” something was amiss when Hutchinson began to speak of Leonie and then suddenly shut the conversation down. The inquest’s counsel assisting Warwick Hunt said the “belated co-operation” of residents in the Scone and Muswellbrook area has seen more than 50 new witnesses ready to give evidence to the court. “It paints a more concerning picture,” Hunt said. The new officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Sergeant Elizabeth Simons, told the inquest “I believe so” when asked if a well on a property where Kate and Leonie lived for a period could house the toddler’s remains. A Scone resident told the inquest he used to see Kate and Leonie near the well, at the Mount St home, quite regularly. More residents will take the stand next week. The case drew parallels to the disappearance of Tegan Lane, whose body has never been found.

[Nic B]

Wow. I really hope she hasn't had any more children.

[raisedbywolves]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...years-ago.html

Mother is charged with murder of baby Leonie who vanished from her home 15 years ago aged just 16 months old