A 62-year-old woman, Ellen Rachel Craig, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for the manslaughter of her two-year-old daughter, Tillie Craig, in Australia.
The sentencing took place on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, in the New South Wales Supreme Court.
Justice Natalie Adams called Tillie’s death a “tragedy,” saying, “She died at the hands of someone whose role it was to protect her.” Craig, who was 25 at the time of the incident, was charged with her daughter’s murder in 2022 but pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
The court heard that Tillie was beaten to death with a plastic pipe on July 7, 1987, after her mother was unhappy with her chores.
Craig later brought Tillie inside, saying, “She’s stopped breathing” and “Oh no, no she’s gone.”
Tillie’s remains were allegedly burned and scattered by the cult’s leader, Alexander Wilon, also known as “Papa.” Wilon was accused of being an accessory to murder and later faced sexual assault charges. However, he has been declared unfit to stand trial due to illness.
Craig had been a member of a cult at the time. Children at the commune were required to do chores and were often disciplined with a black pipe. Craig was expelled from the cult in November 1987 and later moved to New Zealand, where she lived under different names until her arrest and extradition in 2021.
In a letter read in court, Craig expressed deep regret, saying, “My actions were horrible, terrible, horrific.” She added, “I will never forgive myself for what I have done,” and stated she was “at peace” with her imprisonment.
Tillie’s father, Gerard Stanhope, spent decades searching for his daughter. He did not learn of her death until his ex-partner was arrested. In a victim impact statement, Stanhope said, “I spent years… waking up every day with the hope in my heart that I would find her, and going to bed devastated that I was unable to do so.”
Craig will be eligible for parole after serving six years, in November 2027.
