In a significant turn of events, murder charges against Mr. Quincy Timberlake, the husband of former television presenter Ms. Esther Arunga, have been dropped.
The Australian prosecution service made this decision on September 12, 2023, following Timberlake’s guilty plea to manslaughter in a case involving the tragic death of his three-year-old son in 2014.
The incident occurred on June 18, 2014, at their Kallangur home, north of Brisbane, where Baby Sinclair tragically lost his life, despite the efforts of paramedics.
Mr. Timberlake, who had left Kenya amid controversy, was scheduled to stand trial at the Brisbane Supreme Court, but the charges were dropped after the guilty plea.
Timberlake is now set to be sentenced on September 29, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment, as per Australian law for manslaughter in the Supreme Court.
Notably, he has already served nearly a decade in prison following his arrest three months after his son’s tragic death.
Additionally, it has come to light that Timberlake was suffering from psychosis and schizophrenia, shedding new light on the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident.
Pre-trial details
Following their son’s death, Timberlake and his wife, Esther Arunga, initially claimed that their son had fallen down the stairs.
Timberlake informed the authorities that his son had suffered a fatal fall down the stairs, leading to his inability to breathe.
However, when conflicting information emerged from the emergency services, Arunga changed her statement and admitted that her husband had physically assaulted the young boy by punching him in the stomach and throwing him against a wall.
Subsequently, Arunga was convicted of being an accessory to manslaughter, while her husband faced a murder charge.
She was handed a 10-month prison term but immediately freed on parole.
During investigations, there was no evidence that Arunga ever hurt her son.
During these pre-trial discussions, it was revealed that Timberlake had been diagnosed with psychosis and schizophrenia.
It was during this period that Timberlake disclosed his motive for harming his son, asserting that he believed the child was possessed by aliens residing within his stomach.
Timberlake moved his family to Australia after a failed attempt to mount a presidential campaign in 2010.
