Aftershave bottle flung at wife smashes baby's skull

A man who threw a bottle of aftershave at his wife and instead fractured his baby daughter's skull, causing brain injury, has been told he may go to jail.
Paora Bruce, 29, pleaded guilty to the charge of causing bodily harm with reckless disregard and two charges of breaching a protection order in the Hastings District Court yesterday.
The police summary of facts said the couple lived together with Bruce's family in Flaxmere. They had been in a relationship for nearly three years and had a 9-month-old daughter.
Bruce's partner returned home early on June 26 after a night drinking with friends while he had stayed home and looked after the baby.
Bruce was upset and angry that his partner had been out drinking and believed she was not telling the truth about who she had been with.
They argued and went into the bedroom, where their baby was asleep on the bed. Bruce's partner lay down by the baby and the arguing continued.
Bruce picked up a bottle of CK1 aftershave and threw it towards his partner, but it struck their daughter, fracturing her skull when it hit her behind the left ear.
Bruce immediately realised what he had done and his partner picked up their crying daughter. She took her into the lounge and dialled 111 for an ambulance.
At Hawke's Bay Hospital the baby was found to have a serious head injury.
Her condition deteriorated and she was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
Bruce told police he was angry at his partner and wanted to throw the bottle above her head and hit the wall. He never meant to hit his daughter.
Defence counsel Matthew Phelps told the court the child was expected to make a full recovery. He said Bruce had fully co-operated with police, had entered an early guilty plea and was "extremely remorseful".
Mr Phelps asked if the court would consider home detention as a sentencing option "out of an abundance of caution".
Judge Richard Watson remanded Bruce until October 14 in Napier, where he said the court would have a full range of sentencing options available.