Te Puna child killer: Woman pleads guilty to murder of 5-year-old Malachi Subecz

Michaela Barriball, 27, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to the murder of five-year-old Malachi Subecz who was in her care. Photo / Supplied

A Te Puna woman charged with the ill-treatment and murder of a 5-year-old Bay of Plenty child has today pleaded guilty.

Michaela Barriball, 27, appeared at the High Court at Tauranga on Wednesday via audio-visual link from prison for a case-review hearing.

Barriball was last year charged with murder and injuring with intent to injure.

Two charges were also laid in relation to her failure to look after the child - offending the Judge described as both physical and verbal abuse and malnourishment.

One of the charges stemmed from severe burns suffered by the child, which were not attended to by Barriball. She pleaded guilty to the charges.

Malachi Subecz was found with multiple injuries at a Te Puna property on November 1 last year and was immediately flown to Starship Hospital.

He died 11 days later.

During the hearing, a sombre-looking Barriball sat slumped at the back of the audio-visual suite, with the judge struggling to hear her speak at points.

As each of the charges was read, Barriball quietly read her plea to the court.

Barriball's sister, Sharron Barriball, earlier this month pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice, also related to the offending.

Both are set to be sentenced on June 30.