Western Australian father charged with murder of daughter after she dies 16 years after assault

A Western Australian father has been charged with the murder of his daughter who died 16 years after he assaulted her.

Police allege the assault of Teagan Jade Ferguson when she was two years old was so horrific those injuries eventually caused her death at the age of 18.

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Police revealed today that Teagan died 18 months ago. Her father, Terrence John Bice, is only now charged with murder.

Mr Bice, 40, seriously assaulted Teagan in 2005.

It's believed she was thrown to the floor because she would not go to sleep or stop crying.

Mr Bice was jailed for three years.

"The assault caused the victim to sustain a traumatic brain injury and develop numerous chronic health conditions which directly impacted on her quality of life," WA Police said.

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"It will be alleged that the injuries received during the assault eventually led to her death."

She had been in palliative care since 2015 and died at Perth Children's Hospital in June last year at the age of 18, police said.

"I think it's unprecedented in WA for there to be such a time gap between the alleged offence and the charging," John Hammond from Hammond Legal said.

Mr Bice faced court in Carnarvon on Tuesday.

He is due to appear in a Perth court in January.