A mum who died in a horrific head-on crash alongside her four children told her doctor years before her death she was hearing animal voices as if it was “Noah‘s ark”, an inquest has been told.
During her numerous meetings with mental health practitioners and psychiatrists, Charmaine McLeod complained of hearing the voices of “tigers and giraffes” in the years preceding her death.
A coronial inquest into the Hervey Bay woman’s death was on Wednesday told she also heard voices – sometimes for days – telling her to ”kill herself”.
Dr Ashwini Padhi, Ms McLeod’s treating psychiatrist, gave evidence of his dealings with the woman in the years before her death.
He revealed she was assigned both antidepressants and antipsychotic medications to manage her symptoms and discussed changing her treatment plan to lower the dosages.
“At all times during my care Charmaine was always on an adequate dose of her atypical antipsychotic medication, alongside an antidepressant,” Dr Padhi said.
Ms McLeod and her four children – Aaleyn, 6, Matilda, 5, Wyatt, 4, and Zaidok, 2 – died following a horrific car crash on the Bunya Highway, in Queensland’s South Burnett region, in May 2019.
Her station wagon crashed head-on into another truck travelling in the opposite direction of the highway.
The inquest is examining the circumstances leading up to the crash, including police responses to Ms McLeod’s complaints of domestic and family violence, her mental health issues and the response by agencies responsible for her children’s protection.
It will also probe whether the horrendous crash was a murder-suicide.
Dr Padhi revealed Ms McLeod had complained of hearing the voices of animals in late 2016, likening it to “Noah’s ark”.
“We asked if there was any kind of third-person hallucinations, any commentary or argument, she could not elaborate,” Dr Padhi explained.
“She said it was as if it was Noah’s ark – tigers, giraffes … she could not elaborate any further.”
Dr Padhi distinguished Ms McLeod’s complaint as being a “pseudo-hallucination”, as she knew the situation was unreal and the animals did not actually exist.
The inquest was told the woman also heard voices telling her to “kill herself” and had auditory hallucinations of “rats” being in the ceiling.
Dr Padhi said during another session, Ms McLeod had disclosed she was using the drug marijuana that he viewed was a method to placate herself.
At the time of her discharge, the drug was not detected in her system.
The court was told Ms McLeod had complained about her treatment plan and medications changing, including the cessation of the antipsychotic drug clozapine.
“Our thinking was to optimise the medication, instead of having her on four, we would put her on two,” Dr Padhi said.
“I took into account her family history, past experiences, constant recurring complaints of hearing voices.
“The cessation of clozapine happened because of the side effects.”
NCA NewsWire /Dan Peled
Credit: News Corp AustraliaHe disputed McLeod’s change in diagnosis from schizophrenia to depression and borderline personality disorder was a “mistake”, noting she had agreed not to go to a higher dose of her antipsychotic medication.
On Monday, the inquest heard evidence Ms McLeod had complained multiple times to police that her ex-husband, James McLeod, had raped her.
Detective Senior Constable Morris Cottrell ultimately found the allegations were unsubstantiated upon reviewing the woman’s medical records.
Mr McLeod, who is the biological father of Charmaine’s four children, has never been charged with any wrongdoing.
The inquest continues.
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