A court has heard shocking new details of how neighbours sounded the alarm about a Redlands family before the horror house fire that killed a father and his five children.
Neighbours claimed they often heard yelling, arguing and screaming coming from Samantha Stephenson’s Russell Island home before the 2023 blaze that claimed her partner Wayne Godinet’s life – along with the lives of the couple’s five sons.
Zackary Stephenson, 11, Harrison Stephenson, 10, Nickolas Stephenson, 3, and four-year-old twins Koah and Kyza Godinet all perished in the blaze with their father, 34 – while Ms Stephenson and her stepsister Connie Campbell managed to escape.
A Brisbane coroner will probe the deaths at an inquest later this year, examining what caused the fire, whether working smoke alarms could have saved their lives, and whether any household dispute played any role in contributing to the deaths.
A pre-inquest conference held on Tuesday heard how emergency services received the first of 20 triple-0 calls alerting to a “massive” and “out of control” fire at the family’s Todman Street home at 6.18am on August 6, 2023.
Counsel assisting Corinne Leach said the callers included a neighbour, who claimed they had heard arguing from the home at around 5am that morning and before the fire.
“One caller says … you can hear the screaming and there’s kids there,” Ms Leach said.
“Another says: ‘We knew that one day they would kill these kids, but nobody has done anything. There’s always screaming, the house is f**king horrid; I’ve called the police a number of times’.”
The court heard Ms Stephenson – who is not accused of any wrongdoing – told police that she and Mr Godinet had fallen asleep the night before the fire in a makeshift entertainment space underneath the raised Queenslander-style rental house, where they had smoked cigarettes after putting the children to bed.
“At some time later, Samantha recalls being woken by Wayne moving on top of her,” Ms Leach said.
“He then screamed no, and she saw thick black smoke everywhere coming from all around the ceiling.”
Ms Leach said Ms Stephenson had run outside and helped her sister escape via the veranda, while Mr Godinet went upstairs for the children – but tragically did not emerge.
The court heard investigations into the blaze have been unable to determine a cause and could not rule out an electrical source or human-initiated ignition.
“A comprehensive fire investigation report … concluded it was probable the fire had initially developed on the ground floor level, with the exact point of origin unable to be determined due to the severity of damage,” Ms Leach said.
She noted the home’s power points had been described as “bad” – hanging out, with exposed wires – and one power point in particular, where the couple had recently connected an extension lead to power the makeshift entertainment space, had been known to short out.
The court heard Ms Stephenson had previously raised concerns about the home’s lack of working smoke alarms with the building’s owner, but nothing had been done about it.
The owner was fined $774 in March 2024 after she pleaded guilty to failing to comply with smoke alarm installation requirements. No convictions were recorded.
Ms Leach said there would be 16 witnesses expected to give evidence at the inquest, including Ms Stephenson and her sister.
She said Mr Godinet had been described by those who knew him as hardworking, reserved, and a “very good father”.
“Wayne was not the biological father of Zackary or Harrison, but had been in their lives for a substantial period and was said to have been raising them as his own children,” she said.
The inquest will commence at Brisbane Coroners Court on November 16, 2026, and is expected to run for four to five days.
Deputy State Coroner Donald MacKenzie said the court would allow for the inquest to run for up to 10 days, however, noting he had concerns about potential delays caused by witnesses travelling from Russell Island.
“We originally were hoping to have this at the Cleveland Courthouse … The police are very concerned that, given some rivalries that are on the island, that they can control anything that might be a problem,” Mr MacKenzie explained.
“This is a very emotional matter – so that’s my concern is that we’re going to have some hiccup in the first week … but everything will be done to try and get this wrapped up as soon as possible.”
The court heard the inquest would also explore whether the emergency service resources located on Russell Island are sufficient and whether any additional resources could have prevented the deaths.