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The South Auckland woman accused of murdering 10-month-old Jyniah Te Awa claimed the baby girl had fallen off the bed, been dropped in the shower and then fallen off a changing table.
But a medical expert, who yesterday gave evidence at a depositions hearing, said none of those explanations were likely to have caused the severe head injuries which claimed the infant's life last September.
Tiana Mary Anne Kapea has been committed to trial for the murder of baby Jyniah and is due to appear in the High Court in October.
In the Manukau District Court prosecutor Phil Hamlin said Jyniah was murdered on or about September 23 while being cared for by Kapea, who is related to the baby's father.
"On Sunday 23, the defendant made a 111 call from her home. The St John Ambulance and staff were summoned to her address and found the child in cardiac arrest," said Mr Hamlin.
She had also changed her statement a month after she was first interviewed and admitted "hurting" the baby, he said.
Paediatric specialist Dr Silvana Campanella said it took staff at Middlemore Hospital 15 minutes to resuscitate the infant.
An examination revealed a bruise on the left side of her forehead and a small round bruise on the right side. She had retinal bleeding and a CT scan revealed fresh bleeding over the front of her brain.
Dr Campanella said Kapea told another doctor that Jyniah had "fallen off a single bed and landed on her back". Staff were also told that Jyniah had been dropped in the shower after refusing to feed and vomiting that morning.
After being assessed at Middlemore Jyniah was moved to Starship Hospital where she required further resuscitation.
When it became clear she would not survive her family were spoken to. Concerns were raised about how she was injured and police were notified.
Dr Campanella said: "In my opinion Jyniah had already sustained the head injury when she was said to have fallen in the shower and then off the changing table. It's furthermore in my opinion that Jyniah sustained fatal injuries which were inflicted and therefore the result of child abuse."
Jyniah died the following day once her life support was turned off. A post mortem revealed evidence of other head injuries estimated to be 10-15 days old at the time the new injuries.
