Four children were killed in a head-on collision after their mentally ill mother allegedly heard voices telling her she needed to die.

Charmaine McLeod of Hervey Bay, Australia, was a mother to four young children who was killed along with her kids when she slammed head-on into a truck while driving on the Bunya Highway in Queensland back in 2019.

An inquest into the family’s demise now revealed that the woman was on antipsychotic medication for hearing the “voices” of giraffes and tigers.

According to the mother’s psychiatrist, Dr Ashwini Padhi, McLeod was prescribed antidepressants as well as antipsychotics in an attempt to manage the “animal voices” she believed to be coming from Noah’s Ark.

“At all times during my care Charmaine was always on an adequate dose of her atypical antipsychotic medication, alongside an antidepressant,” Dr Padhi told the inquest.

“We asked if there was any kind of third-person hallucinations, any commentary or argument, she could not elaborate. She said it was as if it was Noah’s Ark – tigers, giraffes… she could not elaborate any further.”

Elsewhere, the inquest heard that the troubled woman was hearing “rats in the ceiling” telling her to take her own life.

The court also heard that McLeod complained about being put off antipsychotics and her changing meds prior to the deadly incident.

“Our thinking was to optimize the medication, instead of having her on four, we would put her on two,” Dr. Padhi insisted.

“I took into account her family history, past experiences, constant recurring complaints of hearing voices. The cessation of clozapine happened because of the side effects.”

In the tragic crash, McLeod and her children – Zaidok, 2, Wyatt, 4, Matilda, 5, and Aaleyn, 6 – were killed instantly.

Our thoughts remain with the children’s extended family as the inquest continues.