In 2013, Charlie Mullaley was murdered. His family continues to fight for change.

Warning: This story contains images and names of Indigenous people who have died, details of child abuse and murder, and mentions of suicide.

For 10 years now, Charlie Mullaley's family has been desperate for justice.

What happened to baby Charlie is considered one of the worst crimes in recent history — a case of child abuse, domestic violence, and alleged police discrimination.  

Only in recent years did the family receive a formal apology and pardon from the Western Australian Government, with the Attorney-General saying: "I am sorry for the way you were treated by the government and the WA Police, both before and after losing baby Charlie."

Now, an inquiry is underway into missing and murdered Indigenous women and children. 

There's a long list of cases that will shape the inquiry, each case an example of systemic failure from the institutions which are supposed to keep everyone safe. Charlie Mullaley's murder is one such story.

In March 2013, Charlie was subjected to a horror 15 hours. There were injuries from his head to his feet, and he died from his ordeal at the hands of his mother's ex-partner, Mervyn Bell. A man who was supposed to protect him.

Charlie was 10 months old. 

Watch: Tamica Mullaley's parents spoke to SBS last year about that night. Post continues below.

Hours earlier his mother, Tamica Mullaley, had been violently attacked on a street in Broome, WA by Bell, after she confronted him over a cheating allegation. 

Despite being bloodied, distressed, injured and stripped naked during the attack, she was arrested for assault as police arrived.

Like many First Nations people, Tamica didn't trust the police. When officers arrived she was sheltering in a neighbour's carport holding a borrowed bedsheet to her bleeding, bare body as she called out for her dad.

Instead of being treated as a victim in that moment, she was questioned. Agitated, police allege that she spat, swore and attempted to go home with her father. As a result, she was loaded into the back of a paddy wagon. 

After much begging from her father, Ted Mullaley, she was taken to hospital. As Ted told the SBS documentary See What You Made Me Do, doctors said his daughter would've died from her injuries without that urgent medical intervention. 

While Tamica fought for her life, her son Charlie became Bell's next victim.

Bell was found guilty of Charlie's murder and convicted in 2014. Bell died by suicide in his prison cell in 2015. In 2019, the Mullaley family requested a coronial inquest into Charlie's death, however this was later declined by the State's coroner.

The case was later investigated by the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) after a complaint was made by the Mullaley family alleging that Charlie's death could have been avoided if police had acted in a "timely" and "professional manner".

In its report, the CCC said while there was "a delayed and ineffective response" by individual officers on the night of Charlie's disappearance, it was "impossible to know" whether a more rapid response could have saved the baby. 

Yet on the night in question, Charlie's grandfather Ted spent hours trying to convince police to help him track down his grandson after realising Bell had taken him. 

He knew the little boy was in danger. He warned authorities. 

And yet they ignored him.

Baby Charlie, and Tamica and her father Ted. Image: Supplied/AAP.

For countless First Nations families, it's part of a pattern of failure they're all too familiar with.

Emma Hearne is the Associate Legal Director at the National Justice Project. They advocate for the development of a law and justice system that is fair, just, and equitable.

She has also been working with the Mullaley family in regards to the new inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children.

"When it comes to the failures of police, we see it countrywide. It's systemic throughout the broader police force and the governments that lead them. For many Indigenous families, the loss of their loved one hasn't been investigated properly, and it's a cycle yet to be broken," Emma says to Mamamia. 

"For baby Charlie, the family was not believed nor taken seriously. This is why this inquiry is so important."

When it comes to the cyclical nature of domestic violence, particularly in First Nations communities, Emma says it's a multi-faceted issue.

One of those factors is the fact that for many Indigenous people, they don't trust the police — and therefore don't feel comfortable to report an assault. 

"Considering our long colonial history, how do you trust the police when you've seen them harm your family and your community from such a young age? We've seen when First Nations women seek assistance from police, they find themselves either misidentified as a perpetrator or not seen as a victim — as what happened with Tamica," she notes.

Last week Emma was in Perth to assist the Mullaley family give evidence at the inquiry. It's been an emotional time for them.

"The last 10 years have been an extremely difficult time. Their lives have been changed completely. But they are strong, so brave and courageous to open up their heartbreak time after time, to advocate for change."

Emma and Tamica ahead of the inquiry. Image: Supplied.

It was Greens senator Dorinda Cox and Lidia Thorpe, a former Greens senator who is now an independent, who triggered the inquiry.

As Cox highlighted, there continues to be an unacceptable rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children being murdered.

"It's the lack of attention and the conscious and unconscious bias of people who are responding to these cases. It literally brought me and other members of the committee to tears," she said recently as per AAP.

"Families want to change the system and the only way we can do that is to hear from communities' voices and families' voices about their experiences."

For Emma, she tells Mamamia that this inquiry is certainly a step in the right direction, to ensure justice for families like the Mullaleys.

It's also a job she loves, saying it's a "privilege and pleasure to support these families in their advocacy".

"For Tamica, Ted and their family, they really hope for change so that what they went through doesn't happen to anyone else. And of course, to push for change in Charlie's name."

If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. 

24-hour support is available through Lifeline on 13 11 14.

If this brings up any issues for you, contact Bravehearts, an organisation dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse, on 1800 272 831.

Feature Image: Supplied.