May she now rest in peace': Kiesha's mother pleads guilty to her murder in court

'May she now rest in peace': Kiesha's mother pleads guilty to her murder in court

Date
   June 17, 2013 - 2:51PM
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/may-she-now-rest-in-peace-kieshas-mother-pleads-guilty-to-her-murder-in-court-20130617-2od6x.html
   



More than two years after the remains of six-year-old Sydney girl Kiesha Weippeart were found in a western Sydney bush reserve, her mother has pleaded guilty to murdering her.

Kristi Anne Abrahams, 30, was due to face trial for the 2010 murder in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday morning.

   This is a justification of the efforts by police. It was a nine month investigation, a lot of hours put into it, and it's taken a toll on the police involved.

But in a shock move, Abrahams stood before Justice Ian Harrison and a court room packed with Kiesha's relatives and supporters, and quietly pleaded guilty to murder.
Guilty plea: Kiesha Abrahams fronts the media with Robert Smith in 2010.

Guilty plea: Kristi Abrahams fronts the media with Robert Smith in 2010. Photo: Gene Ramirez

There was initially some confusion in the gallery about the plea, so quietly was it uttered. But as news filtered through, Kiesha's relatives gave a collective sigh of relief.
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The six-year-old was reported missing from her home at Mt Druitt, in western Sydney, on August 1, but the charge was not laid until after her remains were discovered in bushland eight months later in a grave at Shalvey in April 2011.

Kiesha exhibited wounds consistent with long term abuse and serious blunt force trauma injuries to the jaw area, suggesting she had been slammed into the ground.

For some months, Abrahams and Kiesha's stepfather, Robert Smith, claimed to know nothing about her fate, issuing a number of public pleas for information about what happened.

But thanks to a meticulously planned and executed police investigation, undercover officers were able to befriend the couple and draw out a confession, arresting the couple at Kiesha's burial site.

Nevertheless, it took another two years before Monday's guilty plea, with Abrahams pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and not guilty to murder just one month ago.

During this time, her ex-partner Smith pleaded guilty to manslaughter and accessory to murder and was sentenced to a maximum of 16 years' jail.

Many of the horrific details of the crime emerged during his sentencing, including that Kiesha's body was kept in a suitcase for over a week, before Smith dumped it and set it on fire.

Speaking outside court after the decision, the officer in charge of the police investigation, Detective Inspector Russell Oxford, said the plea was the culmination of "three years of agony" for Kiesha's family.

"It's almost three years since Kiesha died ... and today is another chapter," Inspector Oxford said.

"This is a justification of the efforts by police. It was a nine-month investigation, a lot of hours put into it, and it's taken a toll on the police involved."

One of Kiesha's supporters and a campaigner for justice in the case, Alison Anderson, said the plea took the family a step closer to closure.

"I just went 'yes!'" Ms Anderson said of her reaction in court.

"That's amazing ... I was blessed to have known Kiesha ... May she now rest in peace."

Ms Abrahams will reappear in court next Monday to begin sentencing.



RIP SWEET KIESHA LETS hope maddie gets the same justice

How could a mother do that to her child, poor poor Keisha.


So it looks like the Step father covered up the murder and help dispose off her....why.....why do such a thing to another human being and putting her in a suitcase and burning her is despicable.


That poor child must off gone through hell in her short life .

kitti wrote:How could a mother do that to her child, poor poor Keisha.


So it looks like the Step father covered up the murder and help dispose off her....why.....why do such a thing to another human being and putting her in a suitcase and burning her is despicable.


That poor child must off gone through hell in her short life .

i know this case horrfied australia but like it says this is justice for kiesha and proves also that police ARE affected so those who throw stones at GA take note