A High Court jury in Napier has been warned of the extra need to concentrate only on the details unfolding in the courtroom as a man faces a second trial on charges of sexually violating a 5-year-old girl, whose death he has already admitted causing.
The warning was given by Justice Denis Clifford yesterday at the start of the retrial of 25-year-old Kerry Charles Ratana, relating to events surrounding the death of his partner's daughter Sahara Jayde Baker-Koro in a Napier flat in the early evening of December 20, 2010.
In July 2011, Ratana pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter and denied sexually violating the girl in any way.
A jury was unable to reach a verdict at the end of the first trial in November.
After issuing standard warnings to jurors yesterday and saying they should not be troubled by the reasons for the earlier outcome, Justice Clifford said that if any juror felt unable to put aside what they had read, seen or heard about the case they should advise the judge, so the situation could be discussed.
None took the option and a jury of eight men and four women was empanelled.
At the time of the little girl's death, Ratana and partner Chantally Baker were living in a Riverbend Rd flat, along with their 2-year-old son and Ms Baker's two daughters.
Crown prosecutor Clayton Walker said Sahara died in Ratana's care while her mother was on a 4-10pm shift at work, but there was no indication of anything untoward until about two hours after she arrived home, heard Ratana in a distressed phone discussion with his father in Whanganui and went to check on the girls in their bedroom.
Ratana fled but was arrested at a Taradale phone booth about 4.30am and, in statements during the next few days, he told police the girl died while he was admonishing her as she played up, between 6.45pm and 7pm.
He had said he panicked, put her into her bed, tried to ignore what had happened, gave the other children their tea and put them to bed, and started drinking a bottle of whisky. Relating to the moments after Ms Baker found her daughter dead, Ratana denied saying he had raped the child.
Mr Walker said medical evidence was that Sahara died from a heart injury consistent with significant force.
Defence counsel John Rowan QC, of Whanganui, appearing with Hawke's Bay barrister Eric Forster, reiterated that the manslaughter admission had nothing do with whether Ratana may have committed any sex offence.
The Crown was calling evidence from 10 witnesses, including Ms Baker, police and forensic and medical experts.
Justice Clifford said the trial was expected to take three to four days.