An international mining figure strangled his six-year-old daughter to death at their Brisbane home, Queensland police will allege.
Stephen Philip Playford, a father of two and bilingual consultant to miners in Latin America and Asia, was charged with the murder of his daughter Sydney after her body was found in her bedroom on Monday.
Playford, who was taken to a Gold Coast hospital by ambulance before his arrest by detectives, was remanded in custody after appearing in Southport magistrates court on Tuesday.
Detective superintendent Geoff Sheldon said the case was a tragedy that had devastated a family not previously known to police.
Sydney was allegedly found by her mother in the bedroom she had shared with her eight-year-old sister.
Playford is listed as a director and principal consultant of Hong Kong-based Latin Asia Mining Advisors.
His online profile states he has 18 years’ experience in the industry and is “fluent in Spanish and comfortable in non-Anglo Saxon settings”, having previously worked in Indonesia, Chile, Argentina and Papua New Guinea.
Neighbour Katrina Marlow told the Courier-Mail that the family appeared to be close and loving, with “the kids [having] got on so well with the rest of the families in the area”.
