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The 17-year minimum non-parole period handed down to a babysitter who murdered baby Jyniah Te Awa is believed to be one of the longest of its kind.
Tiana Kapea was sentenced in the High Court at Auckland yesterday to life imprisonment after having earlier pleaded guilty to a
sustained pattern of cruelty and abuse on the 10-month-old South Auckland girl last year.
Some the cruel events that preceded Jyniah's death included being left in a closed freezer, hung on a door by the back of her T-shirt and being swung around by her hair.
While there are not a huge number of recent cases in which women have pleaded guilty to the murder of a child, yesterday's sentencing is believed to have been precedent-setting in female offender/child abuse cases.
The closest comparison was the 2005 case of Sharon Harrison-Taylor who was given a life sentence with a minimum non-parole period of 12 years after a jury found her guilty of murdering her 8-month-old son.
Handing down the sentence yesterday, Justice John Hansen said the summary of facts made "grim reading" and Kapea had abused the trust Jyniah's family had placed in her.
"Whatever remorse you advance it will never answer the loss that they have suffered and continue to suffer for the rest of their lives."
"The family were friends of yours. They indeed treated you as part of their wider family. Their trust was misplaced, sadly."
In asking for such a high minimum non-parole period, Crown prosecutor Phil Hamlin said there were a number of aggravating factors, including the abuse of trust, particular cruelty, vulnerability of the victim and impact on Jyniah's family.
Of particular concern was the fact that the abuse was carried out over a period of time.
The defence raised a psychologist report which found that Kapea had suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse during her upbringing.
She was also found to be suffering post-depressive stress disorder and depressive symptoms that were occurring in the context of personality disorder and substance abuse.
However, Mr Hamlin said those issues were irrelevant as the psychologist also found they did not have a role to play in what Kapea did to Jyniah - something she not only understood but tried to cover up.
Mr Hamlin said the only mitigating factors were that Kapea had no previous convictions and pleaded guilty.
Detective Inspector Sue Schwalger said the sentence reflected the hard work the team had put in and the support they had received from Jyniah's family.
The sentencing occurred on White Ribbon Day, part of the campaign against family violence.
