Woman arrested after police say 4-year-old child who ‘drowned’ in pool actually died before

(LONDON) — A 46-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with murder after a 4-year-old child reportedly drowned in a backyard pool following a two-year investigation into his suspicious death, police say.

The investigation began when police in Mackay, Australia — located in the territory of Queensland approximately 600 miles north of Brisbane — were called to a home on Munbura Road on Aug. 29, 2021, to reports that a 4-year-old had drowned in a backyard pool, according to a statement from the Queensland Police Service.

However, now more than two years after the child’s death, the unnamed 46-year-old woman has been charged with murder after “extensive investigations.”

“After extensive investigations through Operation Tango Anise, detectives will now allege the 4-year-old child died before entering the pool,” said the Queensland Police Service. “Today, December 8, detectives from the Mackay Child Protection and Investigation Unit (CPIU) arrested the woman at a South Mackay address.”

Authorities did not disclose the child’s cause of death but alleged that the pool had nothing to do with how the child died.

The 46-year-old woman was arrested on Friday and has now been charged with one count of murder (domestic violence offence) and one count of misconduct with corpse by interference, according to the Queensland Police Service.

She is expected to appear before the Mackay Magistrates Court later Friday, police said.

The investigation into the child’s death is currently ongoing.