A man and woman have been charged with murder after a young mother was killed in a hit-and-run moments after she dropped her child off at daycare.
Kiesha Thompson, 23, had just left her daughter at the facility in Daisy Hill, south of Brisbane, Australia, on Friday when she hit by a car allegedly driven by Larissa Rita Mae-Leigh Sant, 24.
Ms Thompson, who was on the footpath starting to walk home, was taken to hospital following the incident but she died later that night.
Sant has been charged with murder alongside her boyfriend Tyler Scott Williams James, 27, who used to be in a relationship with the victim Ms Thompson. The relationship between Ms Thompson and her alleged killers is “pivotal” to the police investigation, explained Detective Inspector Chris Knight.
Sant, who has three young sons and worked at a Brisbane petting zoo, had posted about her tumultuous love life on her social media accounts. One post read: “Stuck between wanting my happy ever after and never wanting to loose [sic] what I have. How am I supposed to choose when the time comes.”
In a video statement released by Ms Thompson's heartbroken family her brother Koby Torto said: “My sister Kiesha had nothing short of a difficult life but in the past couple years, she worked tirelessly to create the best life for not only her but her child, who is the absolute light of her life.
“Her life up to the end was exactly what she wanted but as all good things come, so do bad and she was taken from us. I cannot stress enough that her daughter was the absolute light of her life and we're here to support her throughout her whole life.”
Her aunt Amanda Matthias asked the public to come forward to police with any information they may have regarding the incident, alleging: "My niece Kiesha was tragically taken away from us in a horrific and senseless act. We are deeply grateful for those who worked tirelessly to save her. We plead to anyone who might have information to help us better solve this case, if anyone else is involved please come forward to police.”
Police have said they have evidence that Sant was driving the silver 4WD SUV in the area for an extended period of time before the Daisy Hill crash, and they have said prosecutors will argue that the incident was premeditated.
“We will allege that that event was not in fact an accident, and the young lady who has tragically lost her life, was in fact targeted,' Det Insp Knight told reporters on Sunday. "For that reason we don't believe that it was an unfortunate, random traffic accident. The young lady who lost her life was a mother, she had dropped her daughter off at daycare. It is a gross understatement to say anything other than that her family is deeply traumatised."
Police said they seized a damaged silver Toyota Prado at Goodna, west of Brisbane on Saturday while the 24-year-old was arrested a few suburbs away at Yamanto. Officers have refused to comment on any relationship between the pair, but have described the incident as far from typical. Asked if it was a case of domestic violence, Det Insp Knight said: "It is not as simple as that."
In the family statement Ms Thompson’s sister, Keyara Thompson said the family planned to set up a GoFundMe to help care for Ms Thompson’s daughter. She said: “'We're struggling with the enormity of her absence in our life and I'm just trying to understand.
“As we are working to rebuild our live and focus on caring for her daughter, we need support. In honour of Kiesha, we are starting a GoFundMe page to ensure that her daughter has the best life possible that we can provide for her without her mother. Any contributions no matter how big or small will make an enormous change to her daughter's life.”
Sant remains in custody and is set to next appear in court via video link on July 31. Investigators are appealing for dashcam footage and asked the driver, owner or passengers on a white, unbranded bus seen in the vicinity shortly before 9am on Friday to come forward.