The Australian prosecution service on Tuesday withdrew the murder charge preferred against Quincy Timberlake, the husband to former KTN news anchor Esther Arunga, after he pleaded guilty to the crime in which he had been accused of killing his 3 year old son in 2014.
Timberlake was expected to stand trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court this week but will now avoid going to trial after the judge-only trial was vacated.
Consequently, he is now scheduled to be sentenced on September 29 after the prosecutor, Caitlin Penfold, accepted the guilty plea to manslaughter in the Brisbane Supreme Court.
The punishment for manslaughter in Australia carries a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment in the Supreme Court.
Whether Timberlake will receive the full 25-year sentence remains uncertain due to his diagnosis of psychosis and schizophrenia during pretrial discussions.
Further, he has already served nearly a decade in prison following his arrest three months after his son's tragic death.
Pre-trial details
Following their son's death, Timberlake and his wife, Esther Arunga, initially claimed that their son had fallen down the stairs.
However, when conflicting information emerged from the emergency services, Arunga changed her statement and admitted that their son had been struck in the stomach and thrown against the wall by his father.
Subsequently, Arunga was convicted of being an accessory to manslaughter, while her husband faced a murder charge. She was handed a 10-month prison term but immediately freed on parole
During investigations, there was no evidence that Arunga ever hurt her son.
It was during this period that Timberlake disclosed his motive for harming his son, asserting that he believed the child was possessed by aliens residing within his stomach.
Timberlake moved his family to Australia after a failed attempt to mount a presidential campaign in 2010.
