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Kevin Stent / Stuff
A lengthy police investigation that began nearly two years ago has led to a man being sentenced for murder. (File photo)
A seriously injured three-month-old girl died alone in a dream at home after her father injured her and then went to visit an associate.
His name and that of his father are deleted to avoid the identification of his mother and older sister.
On Thursday, her 24-year-old father was jailed for four years and five months by Judge Francis Cooke in Wellington Superior Court.
READ MORE:
* Man pleads guilty to manslaughter of three-month-old baby in Porirua
Cooke said the girl was crying more than usual on November 12, 2018, but a visit to the hospital revealed nothing except possible reflux.
The next day, the baby’s mother left her in the care of her father sleeping while she rested. A short time later, he heard the baby cry and went to see what was happening.
They told her to go back to the house and she turned to leave, but she heard the baby cry out as if in pain. She returned, but scared of the confrontation, she left again when told to do so.
The judge said the defendant then hurt the baby, either by shaking her, hitting her or throwing her.
He said medical experts said the baby would have shown symptoms immediately, including retinal bleeding.
He said that she too would have stopped breathing and would be in a coma until her death.
Instead, the defendant went to see someone, leaving the girl alone and not telling anyone.
Kevin Stent / Dominion Post
Police investigated the death of a three-month-old baby in Porirua in November 2018 (file photo).
Hours later he returned and told the mother that he had fed the baby and that she was asleep.
Cooke said he made sure it wasn’t discovered.
Later, he brought the baby home saying that something was wrong but that she was dead.
An examination found that he had brain hemorrhage and internal spinal bleeding.
He also had historical fractures to his ribs, clavicle, fingers and elbows.
His father initially denied knowing anything about it, but later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter along with five counts of assaulting his partner and other older son.
The judge said the defendant came from a disadvantaged background where the violence was extreme.
His attorney Elizabeth Hall said his background had set him on a path that had now, horribly, come true.
He was also dependent on drugs and alcohol after using cannabis and methamphetamine since he was a teenager.
She read a court note from the man who said he had no words for the trauma he had caused.
He had been an unreliable father, a lazy son and partner, and he needed to improve.
Hall said he had taken responsibility and would now have to walk with guilt and shame all his life.
He had already taken steps during his time in Rimutaka Prison to attend whatever program he could and was involved with the prison’s new under-25 wing.
