The death of an 11-week-old boy in a squalid home could have been prevented if the Department for Child Protection had acted on multiple reports that he and his siblings were at risk, the SA coroner has found. or signup to continue reading Delivering findings on the death of the infant known under the pseudonym "Caleb Evans" in 2018, State Coroner David Whittle said the cause of his death was "'unascertained, in an unsafe sleeping environment on a background of respiratory tract infection". The boy lived in squalor "likely for the entirety of his short life".
Caleb's mother "Angela Evans" was 14 when she became pregnant with her first child "Dawn", who was born in 2015. Her second child "Eva" was born in 2017 and Caleb was born in September 2018. Ms Evans told police that on November 29, 2018, she was on a foldout sofa in her lounge room and went to sleep while cuddling Caleb.
She woke to find him cold and unresponsive and he could not be revived. The Department for Child Protection had been involved with Ms Evans since the birth of her first child. There were 23 reports about risks to the three children, including at least five reports in 2018.
Following Caleb's death, Ms Evans pleaded guilty to three counts of failure to provide necessary food, clothing and accommodation for her children. "There were opportunities for DCP to have intervened in a manner which would have prevented baby Caleb from living and sleeping in the environment he was in," Mr Whittle found. "Had baby C.
