Old photo of Sarah and Jacob Kelly with three of their children. Image: GoFundMe.
Former Esperance resident Sarah Jayne Kelly, 30, lost her bail battle last week and is set to face sentencing on October 8 after months of court appearances.
The mother of four was charged with reckless care of a child that may have resulted in suffering and later charged with non-appearance in court after she fled Esperance just days before her first scheduled court date.
Police said Kelly feigned illnesses in herself and her children to gather assets and funds from people in Esperance and other Australian states where the Kelly family previously resided.
They said she claimed her children had medical needs for autism, ADHD and leukaemia among others and said she had a feeding tube inserted her child’s nose which was removed by doctors in Perth because nothing was wrong.
A GoFundMe page was also created on Kelly’s behalf in which she raised more than $2,000 for her child’s second bout of alleged “acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.”
Kelly was extradited from NSW to Perth in early April and has remained in custody since.
On April 24, she was due to face sentencing but her court date was adjourned when she admitted herself into hospital.
Kelly’s court date was adjourned again on May 22 because her defence council was seeking an updated psychological report.
She was denied bail on July 31 and was called into a last-minute hearing soon after when her husband, Jacob Kelly, 30, allegedly made death threats towards the presiding judge during a recorded phone conversation with her in prison.
Kelly was denied bail for again on September 16.
