Tamarah Eaton jailed over drowning of four-year-old Vogue Elers in the Karuah River in 2021

Newcastle District Court heard on Friday how Vogue's drowning in the Karuah River last year, after a kayak overturned, had shattered her family and their community.

Tamarah Eaton, the woman who was controlling the kayak and who had a blood-alcohol reading of at least 0.250 at the time it capsized, was sentenced to a maximum of two and a half years in jail, with an 18-month non parole period.

Vogue's mother Brooke Elers told the Newcastle Herald the sentence was "unacceptable" and called for an appeal.

"Our daughter's life is worth less than the time she was alive," she said.

Dozens of supporters, wearing t-shirts with Vogue's face emblazoned on the front, gathered in the public gallery and watched from the jury room at Newcastle courthouse on Friday.

Ms Elers read a victim impact statement detailing the widespread damage Vogue's death had caused, saying Eaton had handed "life sentences" to her family.

"Every milestone, every birthday, every time we take a family photo it cuts deep, it feels wrong," she said. "Nobody will ever understand the trauma my family has endured and continues to face each day."

She said Vogue was "truly one of a kind - beautiful and bubbly, sassy, the little boss ... a sensitive little soul with the most beautiful dimples and smile".

The court heard that Eaton, now 36, was a long-term alcoholic who at one stage was drinking 750ml of vodka per day. A month before the fatal capsizing, Eaton had been handed an intensive correction order - a punishment sometimes given in place of a prison term - for high-range drink-driving.

In the early hours of June 1 last year, the day of Vogue's death, Eaton drank a large portion of a 750ml plastic container filled with vodka, secretly, while staying at a friend's house.

Later in the morning, on an impromptu fishing trip, she met Vogue for the first time - who was in the care of one of the child's extended family members. Eaton took Vogue - who could not swim - onto the river with her and a dog in a single-person kayak without life jackets.

Just after 1.30pm, the kayak capsized out of view of their companions and Vogue and the dog drowned.

Judge Peter McGrath, SC, said Eaton had "reoffended in such a catastrophic way" after being shown leniency.

"The death of Vogue, which [Eaton] caused, was an unintended tragedy but it was tragically, for all concerned, completely avoidable," he said.

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