Tara Richardson charged with murder over death of her four-year-old son Tarrin-Macen found face down in a pool

A mother has been charged with murder following a two-year investigation into the circumstances in which her four-year-old son was found face down in a swimming pool.

Tara Richardson was remanded in custody at Mackay Magistrates Court in Queensland on Friday after detectives completed a 2½-year investigation into her son’s death.

Ms Richardson called paramedics at 5pm on August 21, 2021, after finding her four-year-old son Tarryn-Masen lying face down in the backyard pool.

She now faces charges of murder (domestic violence) and tampering with a corpse after detectives said Tarryn-Masen died before she entered the pool.

Regional crime coordinator Darrin Shadlow would not say how the boy actually died.

Tarryn-Masen’s mother was charged with his murder after a 2½-year investigation into his death found she lied to authorities when she told them he had drowned.

Detective Superintendent Shadlow said there was “only a small amount of water” in the pool and that a post-mortem examination found no water in the boy’s lungs.

“It was proven that the deceased child was not alive when he entered the (disused) swimming pool … at the rear of the building,” Superintendent Shadlow said.

He did not say how many hours passed between Tarryn-Masen’s death and Ms Richardson’s triple zero call and that more information would be revealed during the trial.

Ms Richardson lived at Sarina’s Manburra Road home with another man, but detectives confirmed she was the only person under investigation at this time.

Detective Superintendent Shadlow said the case had been “challenging” for his officers and particularly for Tarryn-Masen’s father, Andrew O’Sullivan.

“Still, I guess it’s a little bit of closure for him (now),” he said.

Regional crime coordinator Darrin Shadlow said investigators found no traces of water in the boy’s lungs and that there were no other people under investigation over his death.