Man who killed daughter in murder-suicide manipulated ex-partner to drop domestic violence charges

A father who killed his daughter in a murder-suicide at the Whispering Wall tricked the prison where he was being held to call his ex-partner and manipulate her into dropping serious domestic violence charges, an inquest heard.

WARNING: This story contains details that readers may find upsetting.

Henry Shepherdson called the mother of his nine-month-old daughter Kobi Shepherdson 149 times from Mount Gambier Prison in breach of a non-contact order to train her and pressure her to drop the charges criminal charges, including death threats and false imprisonment.

Deputy State Coroner Ian White is conducting an inquest into the deaths of the pair at Lake Barossa in April 2021.

In recorded prison conversations, which were played at the Coroner’s Court on Thursday, Shepherdson became emotional as he bombarded Kobi’s mother and told her he “missed her so much” and found her “so river”.

“You have to keep this between us though, okay?” he said.

“That man you fell in love with at first is back.

The court heard he called Kobi’s mother 14 times that day and on other occasions Kobi could be heard in the background.

In the calls, he heard her tell him that if the allegations continued, they could not be proven and that his lawyer would make her look like a liar in court.

“What evidence would the prosecution bring besides your word?” he asked.

“There is no way I can be found guilty because there is no evidence to show that I am. Only you say something.”

He also told her that knowing he had previously served time for violent crimes made him “more of a monster than me”.

He also blamed prescription drug abuse for his threatening behavior.

In one of the calls, Kobi’s mother said she was afraid that she or Kobi might get hurt.

Shepherdson also told Kobi’s mother that she couldn’t tell anyone that he contacted her or that she was pressured.

“If they ask if you’ve been in contact with Henry, you have to say ‘no’,” he said.

He told Kobi’s mother that he didn’t want to lose his child or let her down.

Calls to a friend and his sister were also played in court, in which Shepherdson can be heard complaining about the prospect of being in prison for a long time.

He also denied making threats to Kobi.

Detective Brevet Sergeant Paul Dawson, who prepared the SA Police report for the coroner, said the inquiry into the circumstances of the deaths was “more complex” than a normal inquest.

He told the court he reviewed all the calls Shepherdson made from prison and said he was “persistent in what he was trying to get her to do”.

Shepherdson was “narcissistic” and “manipulated” Kobi’s mother

When questioned, he agreed that Shepherdson was a “narcissist” and that Shepherdson “completely manipulated” Kobi’s mother.

He told the court that Kobi and her mother should have been declared “high risk” in police files and referred to a multi-agency service.

But he said the report was not made because the officers who dealt with Kobi’s mother classified her situation as “medium risk”.

The court previously heard that on the day of the murder-suicide, Shepherdson successfully applied for a no-contact order to be lifted before taking Kobi to the Whispering Wall, where they died.

The court also heard that Shepherdson had previously convinced another former partner to drop the charges against him.

The investigation continues.