Almost one year after Khristine Jessop’s 18-month-old daughter Matilda died without warning, the Brisbane mother was dealt another devastating blow when police revealed her toddler’s “precious” personal items had been destroyed.

Jessop is now questioning the entire investigation process, after the Queensland Police Service (QPS) revealed the incident was being reviewed by its Ethical Standards Command.

“It’s not acceptable … it just adds more pain,” she said.

“It’s incredibly frustrating and upsetting to know they might have done the wrong thing.”

Her daughter, described as “the sunshine to everyone’s day”, was found unresponsive in her bed last April and it was later determined she had suffered from sudden unexplained death of a child (SUDC), which is similar to SIDS.

Last month, the pain and grief of losing her child was reignited when the Brisbane mother was informed that evidence taken by police, including her daughter’s health record book, had been destroyed months earlier.

“I just broke down … it just felt like I lost more of her,” Jessop said.

“It was one of very few things that we had that actually connected us to Matilda.”

Jessop said the book was more than just an immunisation tracker — it contained “priceless” memories.

“It’s a record of their little life … little quirks that they had, when they were talking, walking and their early development,” she said.

“It’s not something that I can replace.”

Jessop said the book was voluntarily handed over to police shortly after her daughter died to assist the coroner’s investigation, and she had assumed it would be returned.

It was only when she asked for it back, after receiving the coroner’s report last November, that she was made aware it had already been discarded.

“There was no warning of us getting that report either so it took us a little while to process everything,” she said.

“Then to hear that … it was like an extra kind of punishment on top of everything we’ve endured.”

‘Entirely regrettable’

In emails seen by the ABC, police investigators told Jessop there was no “normal procedure” when it came to the destruction of evidence but admitted the book should not have been destroyed.

“In cases like Matilda’s, all items of clothing and bed clothes obtained by police will be usually disposed of as a matter of course to avoid any potential biological contaminants,” the email read.

“However, I would consider that peripheral items such as the immunisation booklet should be offered back to the family prior to disposal.

“I feel in this case where this did not happen that this is entirely regrettable and I am very sorry for any anguish caused.”

QPS would not confirm whether there was set protocol for the destruction of evidence, but in a statement a QPS spokeswoman said the incident was being investigated internally.

“This matter is currently under investigation by Ethical Standards Command, so it would be inappropriate to comment,” the statement said.

‘Families deserve better’, advocate says

Jessop said the “insensitive” investigation process needed to change so other parents would not suffer the same heartbreak.

“In a scenario where there was nobody at fault, those things should just be given back without question,” she said.

Keren Ludski, who heads the SIDS and SUDC advocacy group Red Nose, said parents relied on memories and mementos to deal with loss and losing them would affect the grieving process.

“That baby book would have had such intense sentimental value and that would have been a very significant loss all over again,” she said.

“In this instance, it’s added a complete extra dimension onto their grief and it could have been avoided … families deserve better.”

Ludski said child death investigations had come a long way in the past two decades, but more needed to be done.

“Police I don’t think are necessarily the right people to be able to manage the whole process … we need a multi-agency response,” she said.

“Anything taken from the home needs to be treated with the utmost respect and families certainly need to be kept in the loop in terms of what will happen to these items.”

– ABC / Exclusive by Talissa Siganto