Jury retires for weekend in Shane Claude Roberts murder trial in Rotorua

Shane Claude Roberts is accused of the murder of baby Karlos Stephens. Photo / File

Detective Steve Burborough told the jury this afternoon the thing he first noticed when he went to search Shane Claude Roberts' Alison St house the day Karlos died was that the power was disconnected.

Inside he found personal effects in Pamela Stevens' name but the only sign of anything baby food-related was an empty formula can.

There was a single nappy in a rubbish bag in the laundry, no other nappies were found in rubbish bags outside the house.

In one bedroom there was some baby clothing but no sign of cots or car seat capsules and there'd been no vomit in the house.

To co-prosecutor Duncan McWilliam, Burborough said at that stage there was no glaring red flag to indicate that baby Karlos' death had any sinister connotations.

When he went to Roberts' former wife's home in Homedale St it was open but deserted and the front curtains drawn at 4.30pm. The situation hadn't changed when he returned a couple of hours later.

Burborough talked of finding documents in the name of Shane Roberts' on top of a fridge there which he photographed.

He was the Crown's final witness for the week.

Earlier the court hear infant deaths are naturally traumatic but when a police officer spoke to Shane Roberts at Rotorua Hospital shortly after twin baby Karlos Stephens died he'd picked up an odd vibe, he has testified at Roberts' murder trial.

Sergeant Simon Betchetti said he was led to believe Roberts was Karlos' biological father.

He was giving evidence today in the High Court at Rotorua where Roberts, 60, is on trial for murdering baby Karlos at Rotorua sometime between November 29 and 30, 2014. He denied the charge when his trial began on Monday.

Betchetti said when he'd questioned Roberts his answers had been stilted and the vibe he picked up was strange. Roberts told him that although they were separated he was co-parenting Karlos and his twin Hosea with his ex-wife Rachael Broughton.

Pamela Stephens, the twins' mother, told him when she saw baby Karlos the previous day she thought he may be getting a cold or the flu. Although she hadn't seen any mucus or found Karlos hot to the touch she'd reached that conclusion as the mother of three other children, Betchetti said.

Rotorua Hospital emergency physician Dr Mazen Shasha told the court when he first saw baby Karlos Stephens he was floppy, cold to the touch, froth was coming from his mouth, his pupils were dilated and hazy. The condition of his eyes indicated oxygen wasn't reaching his brain.

A monitor was unable to pick up any heart activity. Although he considered the baby had already died, attempts were made to resuscitate him but after half an hour he was pronounced dead.

The doctor recalled a woman with the baby telling him he had been fine and had no health issues.

Nurse manager Joan Teddy described being unable to get responses from the woman she took to be the infant's mother other than mumbled single words; she had been fidgety and restless. The man with her described himself as the baby's uncle.

Detective Constable Mark Hunt said when he spoke to Roberts he was cradling the dead infant in his arms.

To defence lawyer Max Simpkins Hunt agreed Roberts said he wanted to go wherever Karlos went. He hadn't seen any noticeable injures on the child.

Detective Sergeant John Wilkinson read the jury a statement he took from Roberts some hours after Karlos' death.

He said he had three children with Broughton and nine children to other women.

In his statement Roberts said he had been with the twins and their mother Pamela Stephens at his Alison St home on November 29-30.

He acknowledged having a casual relationship with her for about six months after they met at a party.

When she told him she feared the twins were in danger he offered to help her, becoming their main caregiver.

Karlos Stephens died as a result of head injuries. Photo / File

The day before his death the normally placid Karlos had been grumpy and irritable. "I thought it was teeth coming through," he told Wilkinson.

On the night of November 29 he and Stephens put the boys to sleep on a mattress on the floor of his Alison St home.

They had sex but he hadn't slept with her because he wanted to keep their relationship casual.

When Karlos stirred the following morning he gave him some orange juice then put him face down on the mattress while he tended to Hosea.

"I went back to get Karlos he was still face down, I went to pick him up, he was floppy but looked normal," he told the detective.

After speaking to Stephens they took him to the hospital because he considered it was quicker than calling an ambulance.

In proceeding days a series of Crown witnesses, including Stephens, testified Roberts and the twins were at his ex-wife's Homedale St house on the night of November 29.

Before adjourning for the weekend Justice Matthew Muir told the jury they would hear from three medical specialists on Monday and another on Tuesday who would be giving evidence by audio visual link from Edinburgh. He assured them the trial was tracking well to be completed by the end of next week.