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Karlos Stephens, whose death in November 2014 has been the subject of two High Court murder trials.
A man in charge of caring for 10-month-old twins was found guilty of the murder of one of them.
Shane Roberts, 61, was convicted on Friday of the involuntary manslaughter of Karlos Stephens, 10, in 2014, but not guilty of murder.
The Rotorua High Court jury delivered its verdict after ten hours of deliberation over two days, the culmination of a nine-day trial.
This was the second time that Roberts faced a trial in Superior Court for the death of the 10-month-old boy, and the first trial was dropped in November 2019.
Roberts faced only one charge: that between November 29 and 30, 2014, he murdered Karlos Stephens.
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* Crown says he loved the 10-month-old, but still murdered him
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Benn Bathgate / Stuff
Shane Claude Roberts in a previous court appearance.
On the opening day of the trial, Crown Prosecutor Anna McConachy told the jury of six men and six women that Karlos and his twin brother had been entrusted to the care of Roberts and his family, as their mother, Pamela Stephens, he was struggling to cope.
Under Roberts’ care, the Crown alleged that Karlos suffered “major trauma to the head” and later died.
Roberts’ defense attorney, Simon Lance, also addressed jurors and told them they faced two major issues.
“Murder or manslaughter and second, has the Crown proven that it was this man here, Shane Roberts, who by some unlawful act caused Karlos Stephens’ injuries,” he said.
“Mr. Roberts’s position in a nutshell is that he didn’t hurt Karlos, he didn’t cause the injuries that eventually led to his death.”
During the nine-day trial, the jury heard evidence from medical professionals, including a professor of neuropathy at the University of Edinburgh and the clinical director of Starship Hospital.
Their consensus opinion was that Karlos died from lack of oxygen to his head, caused by trauma.
“The typical way it happens is some form of injury or trauma … a blow or something.”
There was also evidence provided by a Child Youth & Family social worker, now Oranga Tamariki, who claimed that when she visited Roberts to see how the twins were doing, she found “no cause for concern.”
Roberts will be sentenced on February 12.
