Newcastle court hears of Mallabula Point tragedy: Girl, 4, died after heavily intoxicated woman overturned kayak

Tamarah Eaton, 36, and the young girl had never met before they were paired up in a kayak in a protected waterway on the southern shore of the Karauh River on June 1 last year. But Eaton had in the early hours of that morning consumed a large amount of alcohol and at some point between 1.36pm and 1.58pm was trying to navigate back to shore when the kayak overturned.

The young girl tragically drowned, while Eaton managed to swim to shore.

They were not wearing life jackets, according to an agreed statement of facts, despite the safety equipment being mandatory for anyone in a kayak.

Eaton would later record a blood alcohol reading of 0.250, five times the legal blood alcohol limit.

A forensic pharmacologist later opined that if Eaton's story about not drinking any more alcohol after the early hours of June 1 were true then at the time the kayak overturned she would have had a blood alcohol reading of at least 0.297.

The court heard Eaton was serving a 10-month intensive corrections order for high-range drink driving at the time she caused the girl's death. Eaton was represented by solicitor advocate Monica Wilson when she appeared in Newcastle Local Court last week and pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated culpable navigation causing death.

The DPP applied to have her detained while she awaits sentence under recent changes to the bail laws, but the detention application was ultimately refused by Magistrate Peter Feather.

Eaton will next appear in Newcastle District Court next month and will face a maximum of 14 years in jail when she is sentenced later in the year.

What was supposed to be a peaceful afternoon fishing and kayaking in the river off Port Stephens, became an unimaginable tragedy for the young girl's family.

Eaton and the girl were part of a small group who decided to go fishing, including family and friends, but were not related and had never met. They were paired up in Eaton's kayak because it was the largest and initially fished close to the shore.

But by about 1.20pm, the kayak had drifted out of sight of those on the shore.

While trying to navigate to shore, Eaton "caused the kayak to overturn", the agreed statement of facts said.

But it is not known exactly what happened.

Eaton has repeatedly told police and doctors that she has no recollection of what happened, only that "she could remember turning the kayak around to come back to shore and then seeing the lights of a rescue helicopter".

She told police she had drank vodka at a friend's house in the early hours of June 1 and then gone to sleep. She said she had not consumed any more alcohol before the kayak capsized.

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