At Wellington District Court this afternoon, a statement from paramedic Sharon Cretney was read to the court, explaining how the youngster was resuscitated.
Ms Cretney said when emergency services were called to a house in Solway, Masterton, "the definitions of the job" kept changing - from cardiac arrest to a fall, then a drowning.
Ms Cretney and a colleague arrived at the Solway house to see a man in the driveway who "waved both hands" at the emergency workers.
But she said the main then abruptly disappeared.
Ms Cretney took it upon herself to enter the house. Inside, she "discovered a young male child lying on the floor" and a woman with a "detached" look beside him.
The toddler was unresponsive and pale.
"He was gurgling. He was pulseless. I picked him up and took him to the ambulance," she said."For a child who had apparently drowned, he was dry."
However, the boy was also "limp and unresponsive" and had bruising."I noticed welts and redness [below] his eyes," Ms Cretney said.
The child's heart rate was checked and was only 40 beats per minute, compared to a normal children's rate of 80-110, Ms Cretney said.
The paramedic tried giving the boy a breathing tube but was unable to open the boy's jaw, so rolled him onto his side as his airways could not otherwise be managed properly.
Ms Cretney said she then noticed bruising.As staff worked to treat the toddler, Sutherland reappeared.
Ms Cretney said he asked him: "Where did he get all these bruises?"
The paramedic said Sutherland told her he "lay on the child on the floor" after he got him out the bath.
The young boy was later transferred to Auckland's Starship Hospital before being discharged to a North Shore rehabilitation centre.
Manatua Faraimo, who was working as a detective at the time, was asked to investigate.
When he was first told of the incident on March 3, it was thought to have been a "possible drowning".
Mr Faraimo told the court he found a bandage with "apparent blood staining" and soiled underwear in the house.
He said there also appeared to be blood drops on the top lid of an open washing machine in the house.
The names of the children are suppressed, as is the primary school, where Sutherland is accused of assaulting the older boy.
Teachers told the court the older boy struggled to hold back tears when they Sutherland appeared to push him.
One teacher told the court she was at a the school hall for assembly when Sutherland pushed the child.
She said the push "sort of lifted him off his feet" and the boy "reached up and grabbed his back and started crying".
The teacher told prosecutor Tom Gilbert the boy was then "very upset and he was having trouble talking".
The teacher said she told a colleague about the incident and the school decided to contact Child, Youth and Family.
A second teacher said the boy was holding his back and "it looked like he was holding his tears as well".
But under cross-examination from the defence, the teacher said he could only presume a "thump" heard at the time of the alleged incident was actually Sutherland pushing the boy.
The trial continues before a jury of six men and six women.
It is expected to conclude later this week.
