Coroner Weighs Perjury Charge for Birthkeeper

A Victorian coroner has heard that a birthkeeper may face a perjury referral based on new digital evidence uncovered in a death inquest.

Stacey Warnecke, a 30-year-old nutritionist, died at Frankston Hospital in Melbourne in September 2025. She had delivered her child at home and suffered a postpartum haemorrhage while birthkeeper Emily Lal was present. Warnecke had paid Lal $6,000 for support during her pregnancy. Birthkeepers operate outside the medical system and do not receive clinical training.

The inquest began in June, but closing submissions to coroner Therese McCarthy were paused while forensic analysts examined Warnecke's phone. Hearings resumed on Monday with new findings. Rachel Ellyard, counsel assisting the coroner, presented messages from a WhatsApp group chat coordinated by Lal for women planning freebirth. The court also heard a recorded phone call between the two women.

Ellyard stated that the new material contradicted Lal's June testimony. Lal had previously claimed she served as a supportive friend and that the fee covered her time rather than medical advice. Ellyard argued that Lal aimed to groom clients to resist seeking medical help during labor.

In the recorded call, Warnecke expressed fear of hospitals. Lal responded that she should be scared, describing the facility as a terrifying place. Lal suggested that home births required a solid mindset and condition. She also claimed that midwives sometimes recommend hospital transfers simply due to exhaustion, inadvertently sabotaging home births.

Lal had earlier testified that she did not make births safer, gave no medical advice, and would only call an ambulance if asked. She stated she only shared personal experiences from her own freebirths. Ellyard countered that Lal provided advice, made referrals, and sold supplements. Ellyard described the arrangement as structured and deliberate, noting that Warnecke's husband, Nathan, was reassured into a passive support role.

Lal declined to return to the witness stand after 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 the coroner she could find Lal was not truthful and refer the case to the Office of Public Prosecutions for perjury.

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 on the third attempt but was already seriously unwell when paramedics arrived. She died hours later after the hospital exhausted its blood supply. Ellyard noted that postpartum haemorrhage is a common and treatable complication in well-resourced hospitals. The coroner will issue final findings at a later date.