Judge at sentencing for Christchurch baby murderer Michael Topp: ‘There are too many deaths like this one’

WARNING: this story details allegations of significant and fatal child abuse.

A Christchurch man found guilty of murdering his baby daughter - inflicting at least 31 fractures and two severe head injuries before the final and fatal assault - has been jailed for life.

And Michael John Topp must serve 17 years behind bars until he can be considered for parole.

“No sentence given today will ever be enough,” the baby’s mother told a packed courtroom this morning in her almost 20-minute Victim Impact Statement.

“Mike has given [my baby] a death sentence. He has given me and her loved ones a lifelong sentence of pain and pining about what should have been.

“I may never get closure... ultimately, he took the biggest thing he could have from me - my only child, my innocent daughter.

“He took the most special part of me.”

Topp’s 3-month-old daughter died in Christchurch Hospital on December 30, 2022.

It was later revealed she was the victim of “repeated significant trauma and abuse” in her short life.

Along with the fractures she sustained two severe head injuries before the final and fatal catastrophic blunt force trauma.

Police said the injuries could only have been caused by Topp “yanking, pulling, smacking, sticking, squeezing, or applying pressure” to her tiny body parts.

Topp was charged with murder and three further counts of causing his baby grievous bodily harm with intent.

The infant’s name has been permanently suppressed.

Justice Anne Hinton. Photo / Michael Craig

At his High Court trial, Topp admitted he caused the injuries that killed his baby girl - but denied the charge of murder.

He said the baby’s death was a case of manslaughter, that while he harmed her he never intended to kill her.

After hearing several weeks of evidence, the jury found Topp guilty of murder and two charges of deliberately injuring the baby.

He was acquitted on the fourth charge.

The convicted killer was sentenced today in the High Court at Christchurch by Justice Anne Hinton.

The hearing began with the Victim Impact Statement from the baby’s mother - Topp’s ex-partner.

She asked for a photograph of her little girl to be shown on screens around the courtroom as she read.

Topp did not look at the woman as she spoke. He showed no emotion, but shook his head and frowned a number of times at her words.

Mum’s anguish: “I thought I could not go on living”

“No sentence will either heal the wounds Mike has inflicted on me or take back pain that [my daughter] endured until her heart gave out,” she said.

“Nothing will ever make up for what he did... and every time Mike behaves like a coward and continues to claim his innocence, it just makes a mockery of the life he ended.

“Mike has shown no emotion other than annoyance and self-pity.

“Do I feel relieved for him being found guilty? No. I feel grateful that he can’t harm others for an enforced period of time.

“Mike - I will never forgive you.”

The woman said she still had no answers as to why Topp hurt her baby. She will forever be haunted by the fact he was inflicting such awful injuries on the infant and keeping it from her.

“He watched me take her to multiple doctors visits. He never told me, what he had just done to [my baby].

“Each night at home while I stayed up with her concerned; Mike slept, went to the gym, fulfilled his own needs with no cares for us.

“I sat in shock crying at the hospital wondering how our daughter choked trying to process why she was in surgery with a brain bleed. Meanwhile, Mike was secretly googling how to hide your searches and location from police.

“In the following days, Mike slept soundly each night in the waiting room as he ‘needed his rest’ while I sat every minute with our daughter trying to understand what happened.”

She told the court how she expressed milk for her tiny daughter, until she was told the baby would not survive.

“The nurses said they need to dispose of it as [the baby] can’t take food anymore as she is now brain dead.

“Mike drank the milk in front of the nurses and said: ‘well, she won’t need it anymore’.”

She said when it was time to turn off the baby’s life support Topp claimed he “wanted to cross the Rainbow Bridge with her”.

“He said he wanted to die alongside her and that he needed to be the one to hold her as she passed,” the woman said.

“Thank God, the nurses said no and placed her on me.”

“The pain I felt in losing a child who I grew in me for nine months can only be described as my entire world being blown up. The pain was exacerbated by not understanding how or when she was harmed.”

Michael John Topp on trial at the Christchurch High Court on May 1, 2024. Photo / Chris Skelton / Stuff

After the baby died the woman ended her relationship with Topp - but he refused to accept that.

She said he began “stalking” her, sending her messages about taking his own life.

“I was both hurt and angry,” the woman said.

“I had to ask police for a home alarm and asked Mike not to contact me because I couldn’t breathe or feel safe anymore... Mike was soon arrested and charged and... I learned he tried to blame me or my mother for [the baby’s] death and her injuries.

“I was particularly hurt when he attained a giant tattoo of [the baby’s] name on his back and published it for all my friends and family to see in a family album.

“It caused us great pain that this person who caused the death of my child would do this.”

The extent of the baby’s injuries was not shared with her mother until six months after she died.

“I was told the horrific news of how many injuries [the baby] had - not the when, not the how - just that number 31.

“One break for every year of my life.

“I hoped Mike could finally tell the truth about what happened. When did it go so wrong? Why you didn’t say something at any point? You could have saved her life.

“It was particularly difficult to witness Mike’s lack of any true remorse for what he has done, knowing the full extent of the injuries he caused.”

After the baby died the woman found out information about Topp’s past that shocked her.

She said had she known his full background she would not have had a child with him.

The woman was angry and hurt that his family - who she considered her own - kept that information from her.

The Herald cannot publish further details of this information.

“I wish his family had given me the right to informed consent of who I was dating, having a child with which would have kept [my baby] safe,” she said.

“I now feel enormous pain and resentment towards those who I feel could have provided me with this information.

“My resentment is based on the fact that I feel let down by them as I know I would never have engaged or save a relationship, let alone had a child to somebody if I had known the truth of this history.”

The woman said the “trial by social media” as Topp was on trial in the High Court was “incredibly hard”.

“People with strong opinions said that... I as the mother should be punished or killed for allowing harm to happen to my child,” she recalled.

“What wasn’t reported was the number of medical appointments that I took [the baby] to when I had concerns - and I was told every time it’s colic, it’s reflux - including the night before the fatal injuries.

“Multiple medical professionals told me I was an over-worried first-time mum.

“But as the medical expert said [at trial] it’s more common than not for children of [the baby’s] age with these injuries to have no marks.”

The woman said the death of her child had “permanently changed” her.

“I will never be the woman I once was,” she said.

“How will I heal myself mentally and learn to balance my pain, anger at Mike for how he was able to hide his true self and his actions for so long? To forgive myself, for investing all the love... and supporting him through his complicated, demanding narcissistic needs?

“How didn’t I see all of those things for what they were until it was too late?

“This is a life sentence that I’ve been handed. Mike’s choices have denied my daughter the right to a life that she deserved.”

You were a devoted mum - Judge’s words to grieving woman

Justice Hinton began sentencing acknowledging the “harrowing experience” the baby’s family and friends had been through.

“The impact of her death has been profound,” she said.

“There are too many deaths like this one.”

Before she sentenced Topp she spoke directly to the baby’s mother.

“From all the evidence I heard and read during the trial... the messages between you and Mr Topp and the evidence of the medical people you took [the baby] to when she was crying and unsettling - you were an excellent and devoted mother,” she said.

“You could not have not foreseen what Mr Topp was doing to [the baby]... Even the doctors you took [her]) to were totally unsuspecting... the doctors did not pick up that [the baby] had bone fractures and brain haemorrhages already. They thought she was suffering from... normal baby concerns.

“These are injuries that are not visible even when they kill.

“You are castigating yourself for your death and you are not to do so. It was in no way your fault. You are a victim.”

The Crown sought a sentence of life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years or more.

Prosecutor Deidre Elsmore argued the offending was callous, brutal and reckless and that Topp had no remorse.

She said an “apology letter” he had written to the baby’s mother expressed regret about his actions on the morning he inflicted the fatal injuries and for the hurt caused.

But it was “not clear” whether he “accepts and admits his responsibility for the other injuries that we heard about - the other injuries that were the subject of the charges”.

“It’s missing from that apology and it’s sobering to hear,” Elsmore said.

She said Topp had claimed he was “prepared to face up to what he has done and be honest” - however he had a “limited insight into his offending”.

Topp’s lawyer said Topp was suffering “ordinary stressors” associated with having a new baby.

“And Mr Topp had his many struggles - anxiety... It’s abundantly clear that his excessive gym attendance contributed to him burning out... the result is Mr Topp became tired, stressed and short-tempered and although he loved [the baby], and there was no suggestion at the trial that he meant to kill her, he became frustrated - and that frustration led to him losing control.

“It’s a matter for your own whether you see Mr Topp as genuinely remorseful. But... it is important to remember that Mr Top has killed his own baby, his own flesh and blood and he will have to live with that for the rest of his life.”

The defence submitted a minimum term of 15 years would adequately hold Topp to account, deter him and denounce what he did and reflect the sanctity of (the baby’s) life and the harm he caused.”

No remorse - Judge not buying Topp’s ‘apology’

Justice Hinton said the victim was an “innocent and defenceless baby” who was dependent on Topp.

She accepted his offending was not premeditated but, it was significantly violent and reckless.

While his lawyer argued the offending was mitigated by Topp’s personal circumstances at the time - including mental health issues, maladaptive coping and sleep deprivation.

“It is significant that there were two incidents prior to the fatal one where you inflicted harm by significant force on an infant baby who was so defenceless,” she said.

“You abused your position of trust - she should have been safe in your care. She was the opposite.”

Justice Hinton said she did not accept Topp’s claims of remorse

“I do not consider you are genuine,” she said.

She sentenced Topp to life in prison and ordered him to serve a minimum term of 17 years.

I suspect a child is being abused. What should I do?

Any abuse of a child is a serious matter. If you suspect a child is being abused it is important that you notify your local police or Oranga Tamariki.

Any concerns about child abuse must be notified early so that an assessment of the child’s safety can be made.

Early intervention by child protection services reduces harm to victims before the abuse has the opportunity to escalate.

They would always rather know about your suspicions and be able to make their own assessment of the child’s safety than to not hear at all.

In an emergency situation - always dial 111.

To find the contact details for your local police click here.

To contact Oranga Tamariki phone 0508 Family or 0508 326 459 or email contact@ot.govt.nz

Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years with a particular focus on family violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz