A father who killed his nine-month-old daughter at the Whispering Wall in a "murder-suicide that shocked South Australians" had called the baby's mother 149 times from prison in breach of an order, a court has heard.
WARNING: This story contains details that readers may find distressing.
Henry Shepherdson, 38, took his daughter Kobi Shepherdson to the Williamstown tourist attraction, where their bodies were found in April 2021.
Deputy State Coroner Ian White opened an inquest into their deaths on Tuesday and said he aimed to provide recommendations for government agencies — including SA Police and the Department for Corrections (DCS) — "so that nothing ever close [to] this happens to any other family".
In his opening address, counsel assisting the coroner Martin Kirby told the court Shepherdson had met the mother of his child via a dating app in November 2019, and Kobi was born in July 2020.
Flowers left at the Whispering Wall for baby Kobi Shepherdson in 2021 after she was killed by her father. (ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)
He said Shepherdson was abusive towards Kobi's mother, and police first became involved in October 2020.
In December 2020, Shepherdson was arrested for alleged offending, including false imprisonment and threatening to kill, and a non-contact order was imposed to ban him from contacting Kobi and her mother.
However, while he was in custody at the Adelaide Remand Centre, he breached that order by calling Kobi's mother 149 times.
"During these calls, Mr Shepherdson could be heard exerting pressure on [Kobi's mother] to withdraw the charges against him," Mr Kirby said.
"He exerts emotional pressure on her, effectively telling her that she was the reason he was he was in prison … and that their future depends on her.
The Barossa Reservoir north-east of Adelaide, with its so-called Whispering Wall which is renowned for its acoustics. April 24, 2021. (ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)
"He gave her specific instructions on what to do to drop the charges — on what to say and to who.
"Once your honour hears these calls you will be asked to classify them as showing highly manipulative behaviour from Mr Shepherdson towards her and, ultimately, that he was successful in his strategy of illegally contacting her and having her do what he wanted."
Mr Kirby told the court the calls were not known to police, investigators, prosecutors or to the magistrates court.
He said the calls were made after he attempted to send a letter to Kobi's mother, which was intercepted by DCS.
Shepherdson was released from custody in February 2021.
Tribute messages for baby Kobi at the Whispering Wall. (ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)
The court heard Kobi's mother had wanted her daughter to grow up in a family with a mother and father both parenting their child.
Shepherdson was later found by police hiding in Kobi's mother's bathroom and was taken back into custody, and sentenced to six days' jail.
He later successfully applied to the Adelaide Magistrates Court for the non-contact condition to be overturned and was directed to participate in the court's abuse prevention program.
The court heard the police prosecutor was not aware Shepherdson had made the calls from prison.
On the same day, Shepherdson arranged to care for Kobi while her mother attended an appointment.
Mr Kirby said Shepherdson told Kobi's mother via text that "he was sorry for the way that he treated her for the past year but it seemed that she was not willing to move past it" and they would need to go their separate ways.
Murder-suicide that shocked South Australians
The court heard Shepherdson took his daughter to the Whispering Wall and pushed her along the top of the wall in her stroller just after 3pm.
Their bodies were found at about 4:30pm.
"This was a murder-suicide that shocked South Australians," Mr Kirby said.
Mr White said witnesses to the incident provided statements to the court but there was "no need" for them to be called to give evidence in open court.
Mr Kirby told the court Shepherdson had a "known history of domestic violence".
Tributes laid outside the Whispering Wall for Kobi Shepherdson. (ABC News: Charlotte Batty)
The court heard Shepherdson had a traumatic upbringing and had witnessed domestic violence between his parents.
Mr Kirby said the inquest would consider issues including how police dealt with domestic violence and how they could assist other agencies, including the DCS and the Department for Child Protection.
"How was it that Mr Shepherdson was able to call [Kobi's mother] 149 times from custody despite there being an active … order to prevent this?" he said.
He said it was unlikely the inquest could single out any single failure, but that "in combination, the holes through Mr Shepherdson slipped … all lined up to catastrophic results".
Lauren Gavranich, who is representing organisations including DCS and SA Police at the inquest, said police would work with DCS to block prisoners from calling people protected by non-contact orders.
Mr White said he understood from a report to the inquest that the process was already underway, and that "it would be surprising if SAPOL or DCS did nothing after this terrible day until now … I'm sure they've done something".
The court heard some of the prison calls as well as a pocket-dial telephone call from Kobi's mother would be played during the inquest, which will also hear from multiple witnesses over the next fortnight.