Quincy Zuma Wambitta Timberlake, a former Kenyan presidential candidate who sought refuge in Australia, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for the manslaughter of his three-year-old son, Sinclair, who tragically died in June 2014.
Quincy Timberlake, now 43, pleaded guilty to the charges, and his sentencing took place at the Brisbane Supreme Court on Friday.
The court heard a harrowing account of the events leading to Sinclair’s death. Timberlake initially found his son lying seemingly fallen at the base of a staircase at their residence in Kallangur, north of Brisbane.
In a disturbing turn of events, Timberlake claimed that “the devil was in the house” and proceeded to grab a Bible from his bedroom, expressing his intent to confront the perceived malevolent presence.
This revelation was made by Justice Paul Freeburn during the sentencing, who described Sinclair’s death as “brutal and incomprehensible.”
Sinclair’s mother, Esther, assumed her husband was descending the stairs but soon heard her son’s cries and thumping noises emanating from behind the bathroom door, as she emerged from the shower.
When she entered the bathroom, she found her son in distress and doubled over in pain.
The court learned that Quincy Timberlake forcibly struck Sinclair in the stomach, causing him to stumble, and then declared, “There’s a devil in his stomach, I’m hitting the demon out of his stomach.”
In a fit of rage, he flung the child against the bathroom wall when Sinclair attempted to approach his mother.
After Sinclair fell to the ground, Timberlake stated, “the devil has gone now” before incoherently discussing his actions in relation to battling the perceived demon within Sinclair’s stomach.
Emergency services later discovered Sinclair’s lifeless body on the bedroom floor. His parents neglected to disclose the bathroom incident to authorities.
However, Quincy Timberlake was surreptitiously recorded in the morgue making biblical references and repeatedly apologizing for failing Sinclair.
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Several weeks following the tragedy, Esther Timberlake, who had pleaded guilty in 2019 to being an accessory to her son’s manslaughter and was immediately released on parole, disclosed the details of the attack to the police.
She explained that her husband was experiencing delusions at the time.
Timberlake’s life story is marked by adversity. He suffered as a homeless and abused child before earning a degree in chemical engineering.
He met Esther, who had qualified as a legal professional in Australia after returning from Kenya, and they eventually formed the PlaCenta (Platinum Centraliser and Unionist) party in Kenya.
Timberlake announced his bid for the presidency, which led to his arrest and incarceration in Kenya, where he alleges he was subjected to torture by police and a militia group. Although charges against him were ultimately dismissed, the couple faced persecution and vilification, prompting their departure from Kenya and resettlement in Australia.
Timberlake, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, was sentenced based on diminished responsibility, indicating that at the time of his son’s death, he was in an abnormal mental state that significantly impaired his capacity to comprehend the consequences of his actions.
Justice Freeburn ruled that Quincy Timberlake would be eligible for immediate parole after serving more than nine years in custody. Timberlake’s immigration status means he may face deportation or indefinite detention upon his release.
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