Father guilty of manslaughter - not guilty of baby's murder

A Hamilton man was today found not guilty of murdering his baby daughter in Putaruru four years ago.

Joshua Woodcock, 25 was convicted of manslaughter of Sarah Haddock-Woodcock.

Woodcock was also found guilty of two counts of assaulting the three-month-old child, causing her grievous bodily harm and wilfully neglecting her.

The verdicts came just after 2pm. The jury in the High Court in Rotorua had deliberated for about a day, The Waikato Times reported.

Sarah was found dead in her parents' home in Putaruru on March 12, 2005.

An autopsy on Sarah revealed injuries including eight broken ribs and haemorrhaging, a tear to skin between her gum and lip, and bruising to her jaw and chest. The skull fracture which killed Sarah was four centimetres long.

The baby's mother Jaymie Haddock, was jailed for 2-1/2 years in 2007 for wilfully neglecting her.

- NZPA