Coroner examines $6,000 fee paid to untrained birthkeeper in Melbourne death case

$6,000. That is the amount Stacey Warnecke paid Emily Lal to support her through pregnancy and birth. Warnecke died in September 2025 at Frankston Hospital in Melbourne after a home birth and a subsequent postpartum haemorrhage. Lal, who has no clinical training, was present at the scene. The Victorian coroner’s inquest into the death has entered a new phase after a forensic analysis of Warnecke’s mobile phone.

The hearings resumed on Monday, October 26, after a delay while investigators examined the device. Rachel Ellyard, the lawyer assisting the coroner, presented new evidence that challenges Lal’s earlier testimony. Ellyard stated that the phone data contained numerous messages within a WhatsApp group chat managed by Lal for women choosing freebirth. A recorded call between Lal and Warnecke was also played in court.

Lal previously told the court that Warnecke hired her primarily as a supportive friend. She claimed the fee covered her time rather than medical advice. Ellyard argued that this account contradicts the digital record. "Ms Lal saw her role as to groom her clients into being strong enough to resist the temptation to seek medical help during labor, to seek pain relief during labor, to go to hospital during labor," Ellyard said.

In the recorded call, Warnecke expressed fear of the hospital. Lal replied, "You should be scared of the hospital." She described the facility as "a terrifying place" and stated that staying home required a mindset that was "so solid." Lal also suggested that midwives at home births might inadvertently sabotage the process by recommending hospital transfers when labor runs long, sometimes due to exhaustion.

During her initial testimony, Lal maintained that she was not clinically trained and did not consider it her responsibility to make the birth safer. She said she would not call an ambulance unless specifically asked and that she gave no medical advice, only sharing her own experiences. Ellyard rejected this characterization. "She was providing advice. She was providing referrals. She was selling supplements," Ellyard said. She described the arrangement as "much more structured, much more deliberate" than a friendship where one person "pulls your hair back and wipes your forehead." Ellyard added that Warnecke’s husband, Nathan, had been "reassured or indoctrinated" into a passive role.

The court heard that Lal asked Warnecke three times if she wanted an ambulance after the placenta was delivered. Warnecke had lost up to 1.5 liters of blood and began struggling to breathe. She agreed to the ambulance call only on the third request. Paramedics found her seriously unwell. She died in hospital hours later after medical staff exhausted their blood supply.

Lal declined an invitation to return to the witness stand for further evidence following the phone analysis. She had originally testified under a certificate of protection, which prevents her evidence from being used against her in future proceedings. Ellyard told Coroner Therese McCarthy that the office could find Lal was not truthful and refer her to the Office of Public Prosecutions for perjury. The prosecution office prepares and conducts criminal matters on behalf of the director.

Ellyard noted that postpartum haemorrhage is the most common complication of childbirth. In well-resourced countries, women rarely die from it in hospital. "Stacey would have survived if she was in hospital," Ellyard said. She also noted that medical evidence indicated Warnecke would have survived a home birth attended by a registered midwife. The complication was "eminently treatable if identified and responded to immediately." The coroner will deliver her final findings at a later date.