Mistrial declared in shaken baby trial

A mistrial was declared on the fifth day of a Christchurch District Court trial in which the Crown alleged a three-month-old baby girl had been injured by being shaken by her father.

Judge Philip Moran declared the mistrial just as the evidence ended this morning, after he learnt that one of the jurors had contacted one of the crown medical witnesses.

Christopher Dean Matthews, 30, had denied the charge of causing grievous bodily harm to his daughter Caitlin with reckless disregard for her safety.

Judge Moran adjourned the case to a pre-trial call-over on November 23 to set a date for a new trial.

- NZPA