This archive report was first published on 17 July 2019.
On July 17, 2019, former television journalist Esther Arunga pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder after the fact to manslaughter in a bid to protect her husband, Quincy Timberlake.
Arunga's son, Sinclair Timberlake, died in 2014 due to blunt force trauma to the abdomen in their family home in Kallangur, Australia.
Arunga initially lied to police, claiming that Sinclair had fallen down the stairs, but an autopsy later revealed that the cause of death was 'as a result of severe blunt force such as punching or stamping or similar', which was not consistent with a fall.
Arunga later confessed to police that she had witnessed her husband hitting their son in the stomach and throwing him against a wall on the fateful night.
She claimed to have been 'terrified of being alone' and felt 'terrible' because her husband was 'sick as well', according to Australian Associated Press.
Arunga's defence lawyer, Katarina Prskalo, stated that her client had believed her husband was unwell and had tried to get him help in 2013, but had not realised the extent of his illness until the night of Sinclair's death.
Justice Martin Burns will sentence Arunga on Thursday.
