Tane Desatge jailed for ‘cruel, inhumane’ murder of chinchilla toddler

A 45-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder and torture of a Western Downs toddler more than seven years ago.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of a deceased person.

Tane Saul Desatge was convicted on Tuesday of the murder and torture of his stepdaughter, two-year-old Kaydence Mills, in Chinchilla in 2017.

Today, a High Court judge told Desatge he found it difficult to understand his appalling actions against the girl and that his appalling behaviour must be condemned in the strongest terms.

Judge Sean Cooper said Desatge used excessive force to inflict injuries on Kaydence and decided not to seek medical help for the girl.

“You had a significant amount of hostility towards Mr. Mills (Kaydence’s biological father), and that affected your feelings and the way you treated Kaydence.”

Judge Cooper said Desatge’s appalling behaviour should be condemned in the strongest terms and sentenced him to a minimum of 22 years in prison.

“The death of your moral culpability and the appalling nature of your actions … in killing Kaydence means that the element of indictment will not be satisfied by a minimum non-parole period of 20 years,” Judge Cooper told the court.

Kaydence’s remains were found near Chinchilla Weir in March 2020, after an investigation into her whereabouts began the previous year.

Desatge had pleaded not guilty to murder and torture, but was found guilty to two charges of disturbing a corpse at a trial in Toowoomba in July and August, where only the judge was present.

But Judge Cooper found that in 2017, Kaydence, 45, had struck her in the head and face with a bamboo stick in their Chinchilla home, causing her death.

‘Complete and utter lack of remorse’

He discovered that Desatge’s hostility toward Kaydence’s biological father, Robert Mills, drove him to beat the little girl.

In his plea to the court, prosecutor Michael Lehane requested a prison sentence without the possibility of parole of 22 to 25 years, in addition to the usual minimum sentence of 20 years.

He said Desatge was a cruel, unrepentant and callous killer.

“Kaydence was a very vulnerable child who was the victim of his cruel, inhumane treatment,” Mr Lehane said.

“To say his actions were cowardly is an understatement… his extreme bitterness towards Kaydence continued even after her death.

During the 12-day trial, prosecutors told the court the two-year-old girl was “destined to die” because of her abuse.

The court heard that Kaydence was forced to sleep on the floor of the toilet, was often naked and was forced to eat her own faeces.

Mr Lehane said it took a sophisticated undercover police operation to extract a partial confession from Desatge, but even then he tried to shift the blame to his co-defendant and Kaydence’s mother, Sinitta Tammy Dawita.

Desatge’s lawyer, Frank Martin KC, said his client had offered to plead guilty to manslaughter and torture and had shown officers where Kaydence’s body was.

“Twenty years is the mandatory sentence, there is no exception that takes (the case) off that twenty years,” Mr Martin said.

Desatge will be eligible for early release on March 1, 2042, taking into account the more than 1,600 days he has spent in pre-trial detention.

Mother acquitted of murder

Kaydence’s mother, Sinitta Tammy Dawita, 32, was acquitted of murder and torture charges on Tuesday.

She was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of interfering with a corpse.

Dawita was due to be released on probation on Tuesday, but that was postponed for almost a week so she had time to find a place to live.