Woman accused of daycare hit-and-run murder granted bail in Logan

A daycare community in south Logan is grappling with unsettling questions after a woman accused of deliberately running down a local mother outside a childcare centre has been granted bail.

Kiesha Thompson, 23, was killed in an incident outside a daycare in Daisy Hill when she was struck by a Toyota Prado. Police allege the death was premeditated rather than accidental, adding a layer of calculated malice to a tragedy that unfolded in an area known to families with young children.

The accused driver, 24-year-old Larissa Sant, was released on bail on Wednesday following a court hearing in Brisbane where prosecutors detailed allegations suggesting deliberate planning.

The prosecution outlined a concerning sequence of events: Sant allegedly sourced a matching Toyota Prado model on Facebook Marketplace, swapped its licence plates onto her own vehicle using false Victorian registration before striking Thompson on the footpath. After the hit-and-run, the prosecution says she swapped the plates back to obscure her vehicle's identity.

"There is consistency in the way of the modus operandi," the Crown prosecutor told the Supreme Court, characterising the plate swapping as deliberate disguise rather than panic.

Sant faces joint murder charges with her partner, Tyler Scott William James, whom police allege was involved in planning the incident. The prosecution's case suggests this was no opportunistic crime but something orchestrated over time.

For residents of Daisy Hill and families using the childcare centre where Thompson was struck, the details have raised fresh questions about safety in spaces assumed to be secure. Thompson had simply been walking home after leaving her daughter at daycare—an everyday task that ended in her death.

The bail decision turned on whether Sant posed a flight risk. Justice Peter Davis accepted arguments from her defence team that she was unlikely to flee given her three young children, all under six, her lack of criminal history, and her absence of a passport.

Sant was released on strict conditions: she must wear a GPS tracking device, report to police multiple times weekly, adhere to a curfew, and face phone restrictions. The conditions reflect the seriousness of the allegations while accommodating her circumstances as a mother.

During the hearing, the court heard letters Sant had written from custody expressing her distress at separation from her children. "I can't be away from them for that long," she wrote. "I need to get home."

Justice Davis gave the letters limited weight, noting the seriousness of the charges, but they highlighted the human complexity underlying the courtroom battle: a young mother facing serious allegations while her own children remained at home.

The case now moves toward trial, with the central question of whether Sant was the driver still contested. However, Justice Davis noted that even if driving is proven, prosecutors would face a higher bar in proving intent to kill rather than manslaughter.

For the Daisy Hill community, the bail decision marks a difficult chapter in a case that began with tragedy outside a place meant to be a sanctuary for families.