Shane Neil and Lacey Te Whetu, Isaiah's mother, both pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of their son. Photo / Alan Gibson
Shane Neil and Lacey Te Whetu, Isaiah's mother, both pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of their son. Photo / Alan Gibson
WARNING: Contains court evidence that some people may find upsetting.
A young father has spoken of the panic-stricken moments when his baby son was found "lifeless" in his cot - and has denied causing bruising and an adult bite mark later discovered on the infant.
Shane Neil and his partnerLacey Te Whetu had been smoking synthetic cannabis on the day their son Isaiah Neil died.
Neil said he found Isaiah in his cot, "saturated" with sweat, and woke Te Whetu up.
"He was gone. Lacey was trembling, screaming, out of control," said Neil.
Donna Catherine Parangi is facing a manslaughter charge over the death of eight-month-old Isaiah Neil. Photo / File
Under cross-examination by her defence lawyer Susan Gray, Neil also conceded to having memory lapses about what happened the day his son died.
She described some of his evidence as a "figment of your imagination".
Isaiah Neil was 8-months-old when he died at his grandparents' home in Ruatoki, near Whakatāne, in November 2015.
The infant died from heatstroke after being left in a hot car for several hours, according to the Crown which alleges Parangi is responsible for his death.
She was smoking synthetics with her daughter Lacey Te Whetu, Isaiah's mother, while the infant was sleeping in the car.
Parangi pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge.
Gray told the jury said there was "considerable doubt" that heatstroke, also known as hyperthermia, was the cause of death.
Isaiah Neil was eight months old when he died at his grandparents' home in Ruatoki, near Whakatane, in November 2015. Photo / Supplied
Shane Neil and Lacey Te Whetu, Isaiah's mother, both pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of their son.
Under questioning from Crown prosecutor Richard Marchant, Neil admitted he had been smoking synthetic cannabis on the day Isaiah died.
He fell asleep but when he woke up, Neil said he found Isaiah inside the car parked outside.
Around 6pm, Neil said he woke up and checked on Isaiah again.
His son was "saturated" with sweat, said Neil, and seemed lifeless so he woke up Te Whetu.
They stripped the clothes off Isaiah and started sprinkling cold water on him, in an attempt to cool him down.
By this point, Neil said he and his partner were in "full panic mode".
"He was gone. Lacey was trembling, screaming, out of control," said Neil. "She was holding him up under the arms, saying 'my baby', those sort of words.
"How on earth can you remember the doors being closed?"
Neil said the doors were "one of the things" he did remember.
Parangi's defence lawyer also highlighted Neil never mentioned to police checking Isaiah for signs of life, after removing him from the car, until his fifth statement to police in May 2018.
This was despite giving a two-hour interview on video during the police investigation before Neil was charged with manslaughter.
Under cross-examination by Gray, Neil said he went back to sleep after trying to revive Isaiah with Te Whetu.
Gray said Neil's timeline of events, including picking Isaiah up from the cot, was a figment of his imagination. She suggested Neil was asleep the whole time.
