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Police have been given the results of a post mortem on a 10-month-old baby girl which will help them determine how she came to suffer a critical head injury at her home.
But although the autopsy was held yesterday, police had not released the toddler's name and cause
of death last night.
Two homes in Manurewa were cordoned off by police, including one in Burbank Ave with a smashed front window, where witnesses reported seeing the baby being taken away in an ambulance.
One woman reported seeing a baby girl wearing a yellow T-shirt being gently carried from the front door of the home by three St John paramedics to one of two waiting ambulances about 11am on Sunday.
"One was holding the arms, one was holding her head and the other was holding her legs," a neighbour, who did not want to be named, said.
The woman said she had regularly seen about four different adults at the home, including one who was possibly pregnant, and two children who were younger than school age.
Neighbours said the people in the home were "quite quiet" and kept to themselves, although one had seen a man taken away by police about two months ago.
Sometimes people sat on the balcony smoking or drinking quietly.
Burbank Ave resident Domonic Matapula, 17, said he often saw children playing on the front lawn. Sometimes the parents swore and growled at the children and he believed there had been small gatherings at the home on Friday and Saturday nights.
There was at least one other child associated with the home.
Yesterday, officers in white protective suits could be seen fingerprinting a broken window in a front room, taking photos and gathering evidence.
Detective Senior Sergeant Sue Schwalger of the Counties Manukau CIB said police began investigating the girl's injuries after being notified by medical staff.
The girl was taken to Middlemore Hospital by St John Ambulance staff before being taken to Starship hospital, where she died.
Police would not be drawn on whether the injuries were suspicious.
"It's early stages. We will know more after the post mortem where this is going. We're talking to family and friends and everyone's been very co-operative."
