Man 'threw young daughter over bridge'

A man threw his four-year-old daughter to her death from Melbourne's West Gate Bridge after telling his former wife she would never see her children again, a court has heard.

Arthur Phillip Freeman is charged with murdering Darcey Freeman on January 29 this year as he drove her to what would have been her first day at school.

Earlier the same day, he told his estranged wife Peta Barnes to say goodbye to her children, the Melbourne Magistrates Court heard.

"You will never see them again," he allegedly told her on the phone.

Freeman, 36, was driving his three children across the West Gate Bridge when he stopped his four-wheel drive in the emergency lane, lifted Darcey out of the car and threw her from the bridge, crown prosecutor Gavin Silbert SC said.

She fell 58 metres and later died in hospital.

Mr Silbert said as Freeman drove away, his son Benjamin, then eight, asked him to stop the car and go back to get Darcey because she could not swim.

Witness Barry Nelson said the child appeared to be like a rag doll and there was no struggle.

"I basically saw the child tipped over the side of the bridge," he said.

"Very clear in my mind in seeing hair and limbs as the child left the hands of the person in question."

Mr Nelson said he called out to Freeman about what he was doing.

But Freeman had a vacant expression and walked casually to his car and rejoined the traffic, he said.

"He had a completely neutral face as if he was just going about his business every day," he said.

"He appeared like nothing was wrong. That was the overriding impression."

Freeman, an unemployed computer programmer, then allegedly drove to the Commonwealth Law Courts in the city where he tried to hand over his two-year-old son to security guards.

The guards gave evidence he appeared distressed and was shaking and sobbing. He did not respond to questions.

Ilana Katz, a psychologist at the Family Court, described him as catatonic.

"He had a very painful look on his face, tears were running down his eyes and saliva was running from his mouth," she said.

"My initial response was this man needs psychiatric help and he needs it urgently."

Freeman was then told by another court worker that everything would be alright, to which he replied, "No."

He was detained and declared unfit for a police interview.

The court heard Freeman and Ms Barnes had been married for nine years but divorced in the middle of last year.

On the day of Darcey's death, Freeman was driving the children to school in Melbourne after spending a night at his parents' property at Airey's Inlet near Geelong.

As Freeman left the property, he was seen driving fast and erratically and tailgating other vehicles.

He phoned a friend in the UK crying and told her "everywhere he turned there were angry women".

Ms Barnes was to meet the children at school and called Freeman to ask where Darcey was.

It was then that Freeman allegedly told her to farewell her children. She called police.

Freeman showed little emotion during his committal hearing.

Both sides of the family attended but his ex-wife was absent.

A supporter of the accused scuffled with photographers outside court.

The committal hearing continues on Thursday.