Shotgun blast that killed Amokura Daniels-Sanft was from 30cm away: Pathologist

The Norinco JW87 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun was used to shoot Amokura Daniels-Sanft, 2, on June 2 last year.

Warning: This report contains distressing content.

A 2-year-old Auckland toddler was only 30cm from a shotgun's muzzle when she was hit by a fatal blast fired by her father, according to a pathologist's best estimate.

Gustav Sanft, 26, is accused of the manslaughter of his daughter, Amokura Daniels-Sanft, at a house in Favona on June 2 last year.

He is on trial at the High Court at Auckland where he has denied manslaughter but pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing a pistol.

Dr Dianne Vertes told the court today she could only give a range of distances between which the weapon was fired, with 120cm being the largest distance from Amokura that it could have gone off.

She also admitted the sawn-off shotgun's shortened barrel and the ingredients of the ammunition were not taken into consideration in her estimate, when questioned by defence lawyer Philip Hamlin.

"[But] considering all the factors, my best estimate is about 30cm," she said.

Sanft's defence team says he never deliberately aimed the weapon at his daughter.

Hamlin says Sanft believed the shotgun was harmless and that it accidentally went off in his hands while he was waiting to throw it into a rubbish skip. The prosecution accepts Sanft did not intend to kill his daughter and was surprised when the shotgun fired.

Crown lawyer Katie Hogan said Sanft was guilty of manslaughter because he recklessly pointed a sawn-off shotgun at his daughter and pulled the trigger, perhaps to scare her, because she began playing up by jumping on a couch.

She said Sanft failed to check if the weapon was loaded or if its safety catch was on.

The trial continues.

- NZN