David Fisher: A Month since Baby Elijah’s Death, Guilty or Not Guilty?
Lauren Fisher: ‘I miss my baby. I miss my husband.’
David Fisher will make a statement before the court in September on whether he is guilty or not for the death of his seven-month-old son, Baby Elijah, on June 23.
The troubled father did not appear before the Beenleigh Magistrates Court hearing Monday, but he is expected to show up and make a statement on the committal mention to be held in September.
Mr Fisher was charged in June after telling police officers that he fell into the river from the pedestrian bridge at the Logan River Parklands while carrying his baby in his arms. Rescuers found the baby's lifeless body the following morning.
Here are the point-by-point details of Baby Elijah's tragic death.
What is a committal mention?
Paul Horvath, an accredited criminal law specialist on webgenius.com, explains the objective of a committal mention:
"The defendant must state whether they will plead guilty or not guilty at this hearing. He or she must also state which witnesses they wish to call at the committal hearing for cross examination, and in broad terms the type of questions the witness will be asked."
For its part, the Magistrates' Court during a committal mention may fix a date for a committal hearing, during which prosecution witnesses are called to determine whether there is enough evidence against the accused.
Lauren Fisher: A wife and mother's agony
Lauren Fisher, David's wife and Baby Elijah's mother, has always maintained an active social network account. She used Twitter to announce the family's joy over Elijah's birth. She also tweeted about his heartbreaking death.
Two months after Baby Elijah was born, Mrs Fisher tweeted: "So thankful for David who manages the kids 100% except for feeding the baby."
Two days after David had fallen with Baby Elijah into the Logan River, Lauren shared with her readers how she had been dealing with the tragedy in her family. She wrote:
"I miss my baby. I miss my husband."
"Not only have I lost my baby boy - my precious son - but our girls have lost their brother and their father."
rs Fisher held a gathering in memory of Baby Elijah in a Beenleigh park on July 7. Her youngest child and only son was buried later that day.