Coroner Weighs Perjury Charge After Phone Records Contradict Birthkeeper

A Victorian coroner is considering referring a birthkeeper to prosecutors after forensic phone analysis revealed evidence that contradicts her sworn testimony. The inquiry concerns the death of Stacey Warnecke, who died in September 2025 following a home birth in Melbourne. Warnecke, a 30-year-old nutritionist, paid birthkeeper Emily Lal $6,000 for support during her pregnancy. Lal has no clinical training and operates outside the formal medical system.

Hearings resumed on Monday after a delay for the forensic examination of Warnecke’s mobile device. Rachel Ellyard, counsel assisting the coroner, presented messages from a WhatsApp group coordinated by Lal for women choosing freebirth. The analysis also uncovered a recorded call between the two women. During the call, Warnecke expressed fear of hospitals. Lal responded, "You should be scared of the hospital," describing it as a terrifying place. She argued that staying home required a mindset that was so solid.

Ellyard stated that these recordings directly contradicted Lal’s June testimony. Lal had previously told the court she served mainly as a supportive friend and that the fee covered her time rather than medical advice. Ellyard rejected this characterization, saying Lal’s role was to groom clients into resisting the temptation to seek medical help. "She was providing advice. She was providing referrals. She was selling supplements," Ellyard said. She described the arrangement as much more structured and deliberate than that of a friend who simply pulls a client’s hair back.

Lal also suggested that midwives sometimes inadvertently sabotage home births by recommending hospital transfer when labour runs long, often due to exhaustion. Earlier in the proceedings, Lal testified that she did not make medical decisions and would only call an ambulance if asked. She stated it was not her responsibility to make the birth safer. Warnecke’s husband, Nathan, was described by Ellyard as having been reassured or indoctrinated into believing his role was only to sit back and support his wife.

Lal declined an invitation to return to the witness stand to address the new phone evidence. She had originally testified under a certificate of protection, a legal status that prevents her evidence from being used against her in future proceedings. Ellyard told the court it would be open to the coroner to find Lal was not truthful and to refer her to the Office of Public Prosecutions for perjury. The office prepares and conducts criminal matters on behalf of the director.

The court heard that Lal asked Warnecke three times if she wanted an ambulance after the birth. Warnecke had delivered the placenta and lost up to 1.5 litres of blood before beginning to struggle to breathe. She agreed to an ambulance only on the third request. Paramedics found her seriously unwell. She died at Frankston hospital several hours later, after the facility exhausted its blood supply attempting to save her. Ellyard noted that Warnecke would have survived if she had been in a hospital or with a registered midwife, as postpartum haemorrhage is eminently treatable if identified immediately.