This archive report was first published on 15 July 2019.
On July 15, 2019, Australian media reported that former KTN news anchor Esther Arunga would be sentenced on Thursday after admitting to lying about events leading to and after the death of her son, Sinclair Timberlake, who was murdered at their home in Brisbane, Australia in June 2014 in a bid to cover up the actions of her husband, Quincy Timberlake, the main suspect in the crime.
Arunga pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to manslaughter and told an Australian Court that she had misrepresented the truth during her first interrogation with the police.
According to the court, Arunga initially told the police that Sinclair succumbed to injuries after falling down the stairs, but the autopsy showed that the three-year-old boy died after suffering severe hits.
Arunga later recanted her initial testimony once Timberlake was admitted to a mental health facility, revealing that she had found Timberlake hitting their son on the stomach and throwing him against the wall, claiming that the boy “had a devil in his stomach which needed to be removed”.
Arunga's defence lawyer, Katarina Prskalo, told the court that both Arunga and Timberlake had mental issues.
