A first-time mum heard voices telling her she was “broken” and so was her baby when she laid the three-month old girl on train tracks in suburban Melbourne.
A train struck Melissa Arbuckle and her three-month-old baby near Upwey in July 2021.
Whxjmtzywile the 32-year-old former veterinarian survived, her daughter Lily died that evening at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
She pleaded guilty to infanticide and was sentenced to a three-year good behaviour bond in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Thursday.
“You heard a voice or another ‘you’ telling you were a bad mother and that Lily would never love you,” Justice Jane Dixon said.
Arbuckle believed she and her daughter were “broken” and both would be better off dead, the justice said.
At the time she was suffering delusions and hearing voices, the court heard.
The young mum farewelled her sister and mother from a visit when she took Lily for a walk around 4.20pm on July 11.
“Muffin was losing it after feed so I’ve gone for a walk with her,” she sent in a text to her husband before the walk.
Moments into their stroll the mum searched the internet for information about trains including timetables, speed and derailments.
About 5.02pm Arbuckle was seen holding her baby and used the little girl’s arm to wave at the train as it passed.
Minutes later the pair were on the tracks and the train driver closed his eyes when he realised a crash was imminent, the court was told.
Passers-by rushed to the scene to help and when emergency services arrived Arbuckle tried to self-harm.
Following Lily’s birth, the former vet’s mood dropped and she grew anxious as she tried to be “the perfect mum”.
She mistakenly believed the girl’s weight dropped and feared she had shaken her daughter’s bassinet too vigorously.
The woman’s estranged husband – who asked to remain anonymous – went into shock when he learned of the tragedy.
“It is hard to describe just how painful that was. My dear little girl was gone,” he said.
“She deserved so much more. I was stuck with this feeling of helplessness.”
He gave Lily a final kiss on the forehead as she lay motionless in hospital.
Arbuckle must continue her mental health treatment.
Mental health support
