A mother in Australia allegedly ignored her young children’s screams on a security camera after leaving them home alone. Her two daughters died, and her son was hospitalized after a fire broke out, according to reports.
On Sept. 8, 2024, shortly after 9:30 p.m., emergency services responded to a fire at a home in the Victoria suburb of Sydenham, Victoria Police said in a news release on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The release confirmed that a 26-year-old woman had been arrested that day in Tarneit.
“She was interviewed by police and subsequently charged with two counts of negligent manslaughter and one count of negligently cause serious injury,” the release said.
“Firefighters entered the home and found a five-year-old girl, a three-year-old boy, and a one-year-old girl,” police said. “All were treated immediately at the scene before being taken to hospital.”
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“The two girls later died in the hospital three days later on Sept. 11, 2024,” the release stated.
On Wednesday, Sept. 17, the woman arrested — identified by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Australian Associated Press (AAP) as Shania Lee — appeared at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.
The court heard that Lee and her co-accused, Matthew Mcaulliffe, allegedly left the home around 9:17 p.m. to pick up a second-hand car part, leaving the children alone, according to the AAP.
Detective Senior Constable Chris Mitchell said, “At 9.18 and 47 seconds, a smoke alarm is activated before a child can be heard crying,” according to the news agency.
Emergency services arrived at 9:39 p.m., and the three children were found alive but unconscious. The fire is believed to have started in the master bedroom.
Lee allegedly saw the children screaming on her home security cameras. Mitchell told the court, “Investigators believe that the referred screaming is in relation to children during the fire.”
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“It’s upsetting and an aggravating circumstance in relation to this offending … exacerbated by the fact that Lee did not call [911] to assist her own children,” he added.
Mitchell said Lee reportedly told police it “wasn’t even my fault” that the children died because she was not home during the fire, adding she had set up a camera in the kitchen, according to news.com.au.
The detective claimed Lee had also told Mcaulliffe about hearing the screaming during a recorded prison phone call, according to the AAP.
The court heard that the fire may have started before Lee left the house, but it is still unclear how it began, the ABC reported.
Defense lawyer Sam Norton said his client did not know how the fire started, according to the ABC.
Police examined possible causes of the fire, with the “most likely” being “ignition of a flammable material such as a box of clothing,” the AAP stated.
Mcaulliffe, thought to be the last person in the master bedroom before the fire, smoked cigarettes. He claimed he did not smoke inside. Lee reportedly told police ignition from a cigarette was “unlikely,” the news agency said.
Jemena Energy, an Australian company, checked for electrical faults but found nothing abnormal, according to the outlet.
Lee was granted bail on Wednesday and will live in Moama with her mother in southern New South Wales, the ABC said.
Magistrate Michael Smith approved the release on bail, requiring Lee to report to Echuca police in Victoria three days a week and notify police if she changes her address, the AAP reported. She is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 15, 2026.
The Melbourne Magistrates’ Court did not immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for more information, and Victoria Police said they “don’t discuss individuals or comment on cases before the court.”
