Kahui wanted to protect twins, court told

Chris and Cru Kahui. Photo / Supplied.

The father of the slain Kahui twins has told a court he felt responsible for the deaths of his twins because he could not protect them.

Chris Kahui yesterday pointed the finger at the twins' mother, Macsyna King, saying she must have caused the fatal injuries.

Coroner Garry Evans asked the softly spoken Mr Kahui to speak up on several occasions as he gave evidence about the deaths of babies Chris and Cru for the first time at a coroner's inquest in Auckland yesterday.

Mr Evans said the stenographers were finding it hard to hear Mr Kahui. "Speak up ... like you're on the marae."

Under cross-examination from police lawyer Simon Mount, Mr Kahui confirmed he was an unemployed 21-year-old with three unplanned children under the age of 14 months, before his twins died.

He said he was "annoyed" and "angry" that Ms King was away from home on the two nights before police say the twins were fatally injured.

But he said he was "coping" with the care of his children.

"I didn't mind it, I would have liked her help," Mr Kahui said.

He said he went into the nursery to feed the twins and noticed baby Cru was not breathing.

Mr Kahui said he was "frightened, scared ... just really scared" as Cru began to turn purple. "He just wasn't breathing. His lips were purple, he was just not breathing."

He gave baby Cru CPR and the infant began to breathe again.

"Everyone was rushing into the room. We were quite intense and we started talking about getting an ambulance," Mr Kahui said.

He told the court that the twins had not fed normally since Ms King had left the house earlier that day for some "time out" with her sister.

That piece of evidence is new. Mr Kahui told police in 2006 that the twins had been fed the evening before they were admitted to hospital.

In the days following the deaths of the twins Mr Kahui confirmed he had spoken on at least five occasions of handing himself into police because he "wanted everything to go away".

He said he felt that if he took the rap for the killings then his eldest son Shayne and niece Cyene would be returned from Child Youth and Family.

Mr Mount said the "finger of blame" would no longer be pointed at others but confessing to police only made sense if Mr Kahui was the killer.

"It is a very different thing when the wrong person hands themselves in. That person is going to jail for a long time, for something they didn't do. They would be the most hated person in New Zealand and have a difficult time in jail," Mr Mount said.

Mr Kahui confirmed that it only made sense to turn himself in if he was the killer.

He was also questioned about his suspicions that Ms King was the killer.

Mr Kahui said he began to suspect Ms King as the killer of the twins. However, what caused him to change his mind has been suppressed by Mr Evans until this morning when he will revisit the suppression order.