Heidi Strbak has been sentenced for the manslaughter of her son Tyrell Dennis Strbak Cobb. Photo / News Ltd
Heidi Strbak has been sentenced for the manslaughter of her son Tyrell Dennis Strbak Cobb. Photo / News Ltd
The father of 4-year-old Tyrell Cobb, who died as a result of a blow to his stomach, says his son's mother and her partner should "rot in hell" after being sentenced for his manslaughter.
Heidi Strzbak, 34, was jailed for nine years yesterday for violently lashing out at her son while deprived of cannabis on the Gold Coast in May 2009, according to evidence presented in Brisbane Supreme Court.
Strzbak's then-partner Matthew Scown also pleaded guilty to Tyrell's manslaughter, but walked free from court having already spent two years and eight months behind bars.
Heidi Strbak arrives at the Supreme Court in Brisbane on November 16, 2017. Photo / AAP
Speaking to A Current Affair on Monday night, Tyrell's father Jason Cobb slammed the former couple as "disgusting people".
Justice Peter Applegarth found Strzbak likely punched Tyrell in the stomach in frustration then chose not to seek medical help to avoid a child protection investigation.
Despite her guilty plea, Strzbak maintained in court that she did not hurt her son.
"I have not caused the injuries that I am being blamed for and I believe that it is a mistake, an injustice," she said.
Scown pleaded guilty to manslaughter in September on the basis of failing to take Tyrell to the doctor, but said he was not responsible for the fatal blows to the boy's stomach. The judge agreed.
For Cobb, these details are inconsequential.
"They can argue he said, she said; it doesn't matter. They were both there, they're both responsible," he told ACA.
Matthew Scown was pictured laughing as he left court. Photo / AAP
Strzbak sobbed and shook her head in the dock as evidence was read out in court on Monday, but Cobb said he had no sympathy for her after hearing the "pretty devastating" facts.
"If she gets what she deserves, I'll be happy. She can go to jail and I'll be happy," he said.
"Not happy, but happy for Tyrell."
Cobb choked up as he explained how he would remember his son as a "happy little boy, playful, cheeky".
Tyrell was last seen at preschool on a Friday in May of 2009 with no observable injuries other than a bandaged hand, which he had caught in a toy box a week earlier.
By the Sunday night, he was dead with his tiny body covered in bruises.
One of the marks included a "smiley face" scar on his leg that was caused by a heated cigarette lighter at least four to six weeks earlier.
"The last hours of his life must have been miserable and painful," Justice Applegarth said.
Defence barrister Greg McGuire argued Strzbak had been made "public enemy number one" by negative publicity throughout her case.
Justice Applegarth said it was easy for Strzbak to be perceived as "some kind of monster" but her case was only the "tip of an iceberg".
"The tragic fact is that there are tens of thousands of young mothers who can be frustrated and distressed and verbally abuse their infants or physically abuse them," he said.
"Unless we as a community learn from this terrible case, it's inevitable that there will be another case like it."
Strzbak, who has so far spent two months in custody, will be eligible for parole in October 2021.
