Fatal dog attack on baby: Accused changes plea - again

A hearing will have to be held to determine whether the accused is allowed to change his plea; but first his counsel must fight to remain his lawyer.

A man who made a last-minute plea change after a baby was mauled to death by a dog, has again changed his plea and will now fight the charge laid against him.

The 22-year-old Hamilton man, who has interim name suppression, was due to go on trial in the Hamilton District Court in February on a charge of owning a dog that caused serious injury or death to a person, after it snatched sleeping 1-day-old Jaxon, before attempting to bury him in the garden on October 25, 2020.

Jaxon died of his injuries.

The accused hadn't been seen since the night before he was due to go on trial and Judge Down issued a warrant for his arrest.

He was soon after found at a friend's property north of the city.

After arriving at court, about two hours later, the man changed his plea to guilty.

He was convicted and was due to be sentenced before Judge Jonathon Down this afternoon, however his counsel Scott McKenna advised the judge that his client now wished to withdraw that guilty plea.

McKenna said that despite normal practice, he wished to stay on as his client's counsel as there wasn't any issue with the advice given to the accused that day.

He said the plea change was around his client's "mental state and anxiety at the time" as well as "further information which has come to light".

Rebecca Mann, acting for police, said they opposed McKenna's application to stay on as counsel.

Judge Down told McKenna that with the application to change his plea, evidence would have to be given about what advice was given by him that day, "and you can't be counsel and a witness".

McKenna said the issue wasn't around bad advice from counsel, "that's not what arose here".

However, in his decision, Judge Down acknowledged these had not been "the easiest of proceedings" for the accused as he has "struggled, understandably with the terrible consequences of what this dog has done and with the possibility that he may be directly responsible".

He said given the questions that have to be asked in a hearing where a plea is vacated, that would cause a conflict of interest, so he declined McKenna's bid to stay on as counsel.

"I accept that it makes it somewhat difficult but there are too many possibilities for it to go wrong."

McKenna then stood and appealed against the judge's decision.

Judge Down then set down a teleconference for the matter to be determined in early May.

The accused, who has suppression until the case has been settled, was remanded on further bail and was excused from participating in the teleconference.