Melbourne Inquest: Phone Records Fuel Perjury Case Against Birthkeeper

A Victorian coroner is considering referring a birthkeeper to prosecutors after phone records surfaced that contradict her testimony regarding the death of a Melbourne mother. The inquest into the death of Stacey Warnecke, who died in September 2025, resumed on Monday after a delay for forensic analysis. Counsel assisting the coroner, Rachel Ellyard, presented evidence suggesting that Emily Lal, the birthkeeper present at Warnecke's side, mischaracterized the nature of their professional relationship.

Warnecke, a 30-year-old nutritionist, gave birth at home and suffered a postpartum haemorrhage. She had paid Lal $6,000 for support during her pregnancy. Lal is not clinically trained and operates outside the medical system. In June, Lal testified that she acted primarily as a supportive friend and that the payment covered her time rather than medical advice. The new evidence challenges that narrative, showing a more structured and deliberate engagement.

The forensic analysis of Warnecke's phone revealed numerous messages, including a WhatsApp group chat coordinated by Lal for women choosing freebirth. A recorded call between the two women was played in court. In the recording, Warnecke expressed fear of the hospital. Lal responded by saying the woman should be scared of the facility. She described the hospital as a terrifying place and stated that staying home required a mindset that was so solid. Lal also suggested that midwives sometimes sabotage home births by urging women to go to hospital when labour runs long, often due to exhaustion.

Ellyard argued that the material directly contradicted Lal's previous evidence. Lal had claimed she gave no medical advice and only shared her own experiences of freebirthing her children. Ellyard rejected this, stating that Lal was providing advice, referrals, and selling supplements. She described the arrangement as much more structured and deliberate than a friend helping a woman. Ellyard also noted that Warnecke's husband, Nathan, had been reassured or indoctrinated into believing his role was simply to sit back and support his wife.

Lal was invited to return to the court to give further evidence after the phone analysis but declined. She had originally testified only after receiving a certificate of protection, which prevents her evidence from being used against her in future proceedings. Ellyard told coroner Therese McCarthy that it would be open to her to find Lal was not truthful and to refer the matter to the Office of Public Prosecutions. The office prepares and conducts criminal matters on behalf of the director.

The court previously heard that Lal asked Warnecke three times whether she wanted an ambulance after the birth. Warnecke had delivered the placenta, lost up to 1.5 litres of blood, and began struggling to breathe. She agreed to the ambulance call on the third attempt but was seriously unwell by the time paramedics arrived. She died at Frankston hospital several hours later. The hospital exhausted its blood supply while attempting to save her life. Lal had stated it was not her role to call an ambulance against a client's wishes, even if the woman was unconscious and dying.

Ellyard asserted that Warnecke would have survived if she had been in a hospital setting. She noted that postpartum haemorrhage is the most common complication of childbirth and that women in well-resourced countries rarely die from it in hospital. Drawing on medical evidence presented earlier, Ellyard stated that Warnecke would also have survived a home birth attended by a registered midwife. She described the condition as a known complication that was eminently treatable if identified and responded to immediately. The coroner will deliver her findings at a later date.