A former Kenyan presidential candidate killed his three-year-old son after believing he was possessed by the devil and aliens, a court has been told.
Manslaughter
Quincy Zuma Wambitta Timberlake, 43, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his son Sinclair, who died in their Kallangur home, north of Brisbane, on June 18, 2014.
Police had initially been told the young boy had fallen down the stairs and was not breathing when emergency services were called to the house.
Crown prosecutor Clayton Wallis said it was ‘difficult to determine what happened’ to the child because both Timberlake and his wife, Ether Timberlake, ‘obscured the true timeline of events’.
He said ‘because of the lies’ told by the pair and ‘the delusions’ Timberlake has experienced since the death, the Crown was unable to determine the exact way the child died – but pressure to his abdomen was a factor.
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Mrs Timberlake later told police her husband had punched the young boy in the stomach and also threw him against a wall.
She has since been convicted for being an accessory after the fact to the boy’s manslaughter after she tried to mislead police about her husband hurting their son.
Timberlake’s mental health
It was never suggested Mrs Timberlake had harmed her son.
The court heard Mrs Timberlake had eventually told police she’d heard her husband say the ‘devil is gone now’ after hitting the boy in the stomach.
Mr Wallis said Timberlake’s mental health at the time had deteriorated because of stresses in his life, including his ongoing visa application and fearing for his family’s safety.
The court heard Timberlake had arrived in Australia as a refugee and was ultimately granted a bridging visa after his wife was cleared to sponsor him.
Mrs Timberlake had already been granted a visa in Australia.
Justice Paul Freeburn sentenced Timberlake to 11 years in jail for the unlawful killing of Sinclair.
However, he declared Timberlake was eligible for parole on Friday after serving nine years and one month in pre-sentence custody.
The court heard Timberlake had been seeking treatment for his mental health during his time in custody.
Timberlake announced in 2010 that he would run for president in Kenya under a political party he formed with his wife and the founder of Kenya’s Finger of God church, Joseph Hellon.
