The trial continues in the Dunedin District Court. Photo / George Heard
The mother of an infant found with 13 fractured ribs allegedly made a ‘flippant’ remark the injuries may have been caused by a prominent sportsman as he was burping it, a court has heard.
However, the witness who alleged the remark was made said the comment was “immediately dismissed” by herself and the infant’s mother.
The mother of the infant continued giving evidence in the Dunedin District Court on Wednesday, as the trial of the sportsman accused of assaulting the child enters its third day.
The defendant, who has interim name suppression, has pleaded not guilty to charges of injuring with reckless disregard and assault over a single incident alleged to have occurred on July 16, 2023.
The mother, who gave evidence on Monday afternoon and throughout Tuesday, remained adamant the infant’s injuries were not caused by the defendant.
On Wednesday morning, under cross-examination from defence counsel Anne Stevens KC, the infant’s mother told the court that shortly after the allegation was made, police searched her home and took her and the defendant’s cell phones, but did not state for what purpose.
She told the court that a family lawyer advised her it was likely police were tapping their phones.
A family member of the witness also gave evidence.
She said she had been in close contact with the mother in the weeks since the infant’s birth as she was aware the infant had been unsettled and was assisting her in “troubleshooting.”
“The only way they could get (it) to sleep was on [its mother’s] chest... She was just absolutely desperate to try and get a settled baby.”
She recalled speaking with the infant’s mother on the phone when the mother noticed the “popping” sound in the infant’s chest, and travelled to Dunedin on July 19, the day after the infant had been admitted to hospital.
Upon arrival at the hospital, she said she discussed with the mother numerous possibilities, both ultimately unsure how the injuries were caused.
She said mother made a ‘flippant’ remark that the defendant was worried when he was burping the infant, he may have squeezed it.
“Both of us dismissed it straight away.”
While in Dunedin for two nights, she stayed at the home of the mother.
She told the court she noticed a hole in the wall, and recalled being told by the mother that it was caused when the defendant was frustrated and threw a wheat bag at the wall.
She told Anne Stevens KC she frequently witnessed the infant being unsettled, including on video calls with its mother.
She said this was an issue “from day dot” of the infant’s life.
She said she had ‘absolutely’ no concerns about the defendant’s behaviour or attitude toward the infant, and that she had never seen him be violent toward anyone.
She told Stevens she felt police were “closing down” other investigative routes.
Another witness told Crown prosecutor Richard Smith she had been neighbours with the defendant and the infant’s mother for four years and knew them well.
“It would be odd not to see them on a daily basis... I wouldn’t call it a friendship, they’re my family.”
She said the infant was “grizzly from the moment I met (it).”
She said there were numerous discussions about what was possibly wrong with the infant, including allergies, constipation, or reflux.
She told Smith she believed the infant’s injuries were caused during childbirth, with the alternative being the mother had rolled on it during co-sleeping.
She said she had only ever seen the mother and defendant “squabble” as much as any other couple.
She said she supplied the mother with a gib board to repair a hole in the wall that she was told was caused by a wheat bag thrown by the defendant.
She said she had been told that this occurred during an argument, in which the defendant removed himself, went into another room, and “expressed his frustration.”
The witness told Stevens it was ‘laughable’ to think that the defendant could ever be violent towards the infant.
“[The defendant] is a loving man... I would leave my children with him in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t even think twice about it.”
The witness momentarily addressed the defendant: “I’m sorry, but I love that baby more than you... If I thought for any reason [the defendant] had hurt him, I would not have stayed silent.”
The baby’s grandmother also gave evidence, sobbing as she spoke to Smith.
She said the infant’s birth was “really rough,” that the infant was “very sad” and cried “all the time.”
“He just wanted to be held,” she said.
She demonstrated for the court how the midwife carried the infant following its birth - an event she travelled to Dunedin for - and also demonstrated how she held the infant herself, in a manner replicated by the defendant and its mother, she said.
She told Stevens she had never seen the defendant behave in a way toward the infant that concerned her.
Another neighbour told the court the infant was a “sad little baby,” and she had recommended its mother take it to a craniosacral therapist.
On Monday, the Crown outlined its case, alleging the defendant applied a “crushing force” to the infant’s torso while the child was in his care, resulting in 13 rib fractures, contending the injuries were inflicted recklessly by “deliberately applied force.”
The defence rejected that claim, suggesting alternative medical explanations such as a bone-density disorder or vitamin D deficiency, and maintains the defendant is a gentle parent who never harmed the infant.
The trial, scheduled to last up to three weeks, continues before Judge David Robinson and a jury of 12.
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.