THE father of the man accused of murdering his little girl by throwing her off the West Gate Bridge tried to stop him leaving their coastal home and driving his three children back to Melbourne on the morning of the tragic death, court documents reveal.

In a statement presented to Melbourne Magistrates’ Court as part of the prosecution case against Mr Freeman, the accused man’s father, Peter Freeman, said his son arrived at their Aireys Inlet home unhappy about a custody decision the night before the Darcey was allegedly thrown to her death.

"When Arthur arrived about midnight he was very distressed about the outcome of the (Family) court, in particular the role the clinical psychologist played in determining custody arrangements,” Peter Freeman said in his police statement.

"He felt that he had been set-up."

The accused man’s father said of the fateful morning: "I was concerned that Arthur was very stressed and I suggested that he and the children miss a day of school and stay home."

In court today, when asked by Magistrate Peter Reardon whether he was guilty or not guilty, Arthur Freeman replied "not guilty, Your Honour."

During the second day of the committal hearing, Sen-Constable Sean Hill told court he approached Mr Freeman at the Commonwealth Law Courts in the hours following the alleged incident, before the alleged murderer stood and told him "take me away".

Sen-Constable Hill said Mr Freeman was sitting in a chair as one of his sons was having his nappy changed and his older son was sitting on the floor.

"He was crying, shaking, and rocking back and forth," Snr Const Hill said.

Mr Freeman made no application for bail and will reappear in the Supreme Court on 22 October for a directions hearing.

During the opening of the committal hearing yesterday, prosecutor Gavin Silbert, SC, said the alleged murderer asked his daughter Darcey, 4, to climb from the back seat of his car into the front before he lifted her out, walked her to the railing and tossed her over.

Witness Barry Nelson, travelling across the bridge with his wife at the time, told Melbourne Magistrates' Court he saw the child disappear before he said to his wife: "I think that guy just threw a kid over the side."

In a police statement tendered to court, Mr Nelson said: "I didn't see the child's arms around the man or anything like that.

"I then saw this guy tip the child over the rail. It was like he was holding a bag and tipped it over.

"He just let the child flip over the bridge."

Mr Nelson said he ran towards the man, who looked like he had just performed an "everyday task" before casually returning to his car.

"I looked straight at him. He had no emotion on his face, like nothing had happened," Mr Nelson said.

"The car didn't spin its wheels or drive off in a rush. It just drove away at normal speed and joined the traffic."

Mr Silbert told the court that after Mr Freeman drove off with his two sons - aged 7 and 2 - one of them asked him to stop and return to save their sister.

"Whilst (they were) driving, (the eldest son) asked his father to go back to get Darcey because she could not swim," Mr Silbert said.

The court heard that before Darcey was tipped 58m into the water below, Mr Freeman was seen driving erratically on his way from his parents' home to deliver Darcey to her first day of school in Hawthorn.

The children's mother was waiting for them to arrive at the school.

Mr Silbert told the court that on the way, a crying Mr Freeman rang a female friend in the UK and told her he had lost his children, and that "everywhere he turned there were angry women".

The court was told that the children's mother rang her former husband and was told to "say goodbye to your children".

Mr Silbert said the mother rang back and was told once more, "you will never see them again". The mother then called the police.

The court heard that after Darcey was thrown from the bridge, Mr Freeman drove his two sons to the Commonwealth Law Courts in the city.

Court security guard Brian Skilton said Mr Freeman tried to hand him his youngest child in the foyer. "He just kept mumbling, 'take my boy, take my boy'," Mr Skilton told the court yesterday.

"The best way I could describe him was he seemed quite stressed and was visibly shaking."

Commonwealth Law Court counsellor and psychologist Ilana Katz was called and asked to help out.

She described Mr Freeman as a "catatonic" man who just stared out the window.

"There was no response," she said.


http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/accused-father-arthur-freeman-told-friend-everywhere-there-were-angry-women/story-e6frf7jo-1225784007946





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