Coroner Considers Perjury Referral Against Birthkeeper in Melbourne Death

A Victorian coroner is considering referring a birthkeeper to prosecutors on suspicion of perjury after new digital evidence contradicted her previous testimony. The inquest concerns the death of Stacey Warnecke, a 30-year-old nutritionist who died in September 2025 after a home birth in Frankston.

Coroner Therese McCarthy resumed hearings on Monday after delaying closing submissions to allow for the forensic analysis of Warnecke's phone. Rachel Ellyard, the counsel assisting the coroner, presented findings that suggest the birthkeeper, Emily Lal, played a more directive role than she previously claimed.

Warnecke paid Lal $6,000 for support throughout her pregnancy. Lal told the court in June that she acted primarily as a supportive friend and that the fee covered her time rather than medical advice. The new evidence challenges that characterization.

Ellyard presented messages from a WhatsApp group chat coordinated by Lal for women choosing freebirth. A recorded call between Lal and Warnecke was also played to the court. In the recording, Warnecke expressed fear of the hospital. Lal responded that she should be scared, calling it a terrifying place. Lal stated that staying home required a mindset and condition that were so solid.

Lal also suggested on the call that midwives at home births can inadvertently sabotage the process by advising women to go to the hospital when labor runs long, sometimes due to exhaustion. Ellyard argued that this material directly contradicted Lal's earlier claim that she gave no medical advice and only shared personal experiences.

Ellyard described the arrangement as much more structured and deliberate than the actions of a friend who pulls hair back or wipes a forehead. She noted that Lal was providing advice, referrals, and selling supplements. Ellyard added that Warnecke's husband, Nathan, was reassured or indoctrinated into believing his role was simply to sit back and support his wife.

Lal had previously testified that she was not clinically trained and that it was not her responsibility to ensure the birth was safe. She stated she would not call an ambulance unless asked, even if a woman was unconscious. Lal declined to return to the stand for further evidence after the phone analysis was completed. She had originally testified only after receiving a certificate of protection, which prevents her evidence from being used against her in future proceedings.

The court heard that Lal asked Warnecke three times if she wanted an ambulance after the placenta was delivered and Warnecke lost up to 1.5 litres of blood. Warnecke agreed to the call on the third attempt. She was seriously unwell by the time paramedics arrived. Warnecke died in hospital several hours later after the facility exhausted its blood supply. Ellyard stated that Warnecke would have survived if she had been in a hospital, as postpartum haemorrhage is eminently treatable if identified immediately.

Ellyard told Coroner McCarthy it would be open to her to find Lal was not truthful and to refer her to the Office of Public Prosecutions for perjury. The coroner will deliver her final findings at a later date.