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A mother whose 17-month-old son died after his partner shoved him onto a couch says that when she closes her eyes she sees her son being killed.
Phillip John Welsh was sentenced Friday to five years and 11 months in prison after pleading guilty in Auckland High Court to the murder of Malcolm Robert Bell.
Welsh must serve at least half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
The dead boy’s mother, Savanna Bell, cursed Welsh as they led him out of the courtroom.
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He previously told the Superior Court that Welsh had killed his bubbly son who loved feeding ducks and exploring Mission Bay.
“What did you do to my son? I hate you so much. At night, when I am exhausted, I close my eyes … I have visions of what you have done … I see her little body being destroyed by you. “
Bell spoke of receiving a phone call from Welsh telling her that Malcolm was having a seizure after she left the boy in her care.
But while Welsh called her, she didn’t call an ambulance.
“You said you loved him like he was yours and I trusted you. You are a liar and a coward and a monster. You took my baby and killed him and to me that is murder. “
Malcolm Bell was rushed to Auckland’s Starship Children’s Hospital with serious injuries on June 23, 2019. Police described his injuries as “not accidental”.
Malcolm Bell’s grandmother, Sophie Pokai, talked about visiting him in Starship as he lay in a hospital bed and Welsh looked out the window.
“Not being able to take her mamae [pain] it is the worst day of my life ”.
Malcolm Bell died six days later.
Pokai said that his other grandchildren still ask about him.
“Tears fill my eyes. I say that he is sleeping a lot and that he is playing with the angels. “
Judge Christian Whata said that Welsh’s violence was “extreme, indeed brutal” and, even if Malcolm had survived, he would have been blind.
Death of Malcolm Bell
According to the fact sheet, Savanna Bell asked Welsh to take care of Malcolm while he went to meet someone.
Welsh was angry at being treated like the “babysitter”. When he left, Malcolm was crying.
Welsh picked up Malcolm and tossed him onto the couch. The force of the launch sent Malcolm bouncing off the wall and landing on the ground.
Welsh went to the bathroom before calling Malcolm’s mother to tell her that Malcolm was having a seizure.
Malcolm was taken to Starship Hospital, where CT scans revealed swelling in his brain and bleeding. Doctors performed emergency surgery on Malcolm’s head to try to relieve the pressure on his skull.
While the boy was fighting for his life in the hospital, the police intercepted a phone call between Welsh and Savanna Bell.
Savanna Bell asked Welsh what he had done and said, “I was fine when I left.”
Welsh replied: “Oh yes, of course I do. Tell me what happened, Savanna? What did you do to him before I had him?
In other intercepted calls, Welsh told family and friends that Savanna Bell was responsible.
Six days after being admitted to the hospital, Malcolm died.
Medical experts concluded that the force used to injure his head was similar to a car accident.
Welsh initially told police that he had come out of the bathroom to find Malcolm lying on the floor and unconscious.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney said a witness had told police that Phillip Welsh had violently shaken Malcolm Bell in an earlier incident.
Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney said that while Welsh was entitled to a discount for her early guilty plea, she had only done so the day before her trial date.
She said that up until that point, he had been blaming Savanna Bell.
Culliney said the Crown also had a witness who would have told the Welsh trial that Welsh had been seen violently shaking Malcolm in an earlier incident.
There was also evidence of methamphetamine smoking in the home.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
David Niven said Phillip Welsh had not subjected Malcolm Bell to prolonged abuse
Welsh’s attorney, David Niven, said Welsh had not subjected Malcolm to constant cruelty.
He said Welsh deserved the full 25 percent discount for his early guilty plea because one of the medical experts was too late.
Judge Whata rejected the argument, saying the family and other witnesses had to prepare for trial until a guilty plea.
The judge said Welsh’s parents separated when he was young and he spent some time living on the streets.
He had a history of drug use and neurological problems that predisposed him to act impulsively.
Oranga Tamariki was involved with the family before Malcolm died.
The organization charged with protecting the country’s most vulnerable children has previously said Things he was unable to discuss the details of what happened while the case was in court.
Malcolm’s death has also been referred to a medical examiner, who will look at the broader circumstances. The coroner will consider if there are any lessons to be learned for the future, ”said Auckland manager Anna Palmer.
Phil Doyle / Stuff
William Bell, the boy’s uncle, in Auckland High Court. (File photo)
Welsh initially received the name suppression after his attorney David Niven argued that his client was wrongfully linked to RSA’s triple killer William Bell, the boy’s uncle. The deletion of the Welsh name expired in December.
William Bell killed three people and left another near death in a gun attack at the RSA at Mt Wellington-Panmure in 2001.
He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum probation period of 30 years.
Bell’s parole period expires in 2033, when he will turn 55.
The sentence was the longest ever imposed in New Zealand until the Christchurch mosque shooter’s sentence in August.
