Toddler was frothing at the mouth, court hears

by Cherie Taylor cherie.taylor@dailypost.co.nz
Nia Glassie never woke from a deep sleep the day before being taken to Rotorua Hospital in a coma, according to her aunt.

Louise Kuka was one of seven people who gave evidence in the High Court at Rotorua yesterday in the trial of five people accused of causing her death.

Three-year-old Nia died from massive bleeding between her skull and brain at Starship Hospital on August 3 last year, 12 days after being taken to Rotorua Hospital in a coma.

Nia's mother, Lisa Kuka, 35, her partner at the time Wiremu Curtis, 18, his brother Michael Curtis, 21, his partner Oriwa Kemp, 18, and Nia's cousin Michael Pearson are on trial before Justice Judith Potter and a jury of 11.

It is alleged the Curtis brothers kicked the toddler in the head on July 20 last year, inflicting the fatal injuries.

Lisa Kuka's sister Louise told the court she was at the Frank St home where Nia lived about 5pm on July 20 to help prepare for a party the next night. Nia complained of a headache but was otherwise "her normal quiet, shy self."

On July 21, Louise Kuka dropped her sons off at Frank St during the day, returning at 5pm to pick up her 11-year-old son. She was told Nia was unwell and had not woken that day.

"When I asked her what was wrong, [Lisa] said Nia had the flu."

Michael Curtis tried to stop her from taking Nia with her.

"He told me she was sick, just to leave her ... I said she is my niece, I'm taking her."

She took Nia and her siblings back to her Rotorua home.

Nia appeared to be in a "deep sleep" and was "groaning" but her aunt said she did not think anything was wrong.

Between 4am and 5am on July 22, one of Nia's siblings woke her to check on Nia who was grinding her teeth and frothing at the mouth, which was "tightly shut" and wouldn't open. "I started to panic ... a bit scared. Her body was stiff," she said.

She took Nia to Rotorua Hospital, picking up Lisa Kuka on the way. Lisa Kuka cried when she saw Nia. Wiremu Curtis and Michael Pearson also went to hospital with them. When doctors questioned Lisa Kuka, Wiremu Curtis left the room and Louise Kuka said she asked him if the child had fallen from his shoulders. He said she didn't know what she was talking about.

Kuka's older brother, Eugene Kuka, told the court when he questioned his sister Lisa at Starship Hospital she told him Nia "might have been abused".

Two electricians gave evidence about the dryer in which Nia was allegedly placed. It's alleged it was turned on briefly while she was inside it. Malcolm Lofroth from Stewart Appliances said when he ran tests on the Simpson dryer taken from Frank St, it opened when a mannequin with a dive belt attached was put inside it. Other tests showed the dryer reached 55C within four minutes of being switched on high and within five minutes on low.



Dianne Crenfeldt, an ESR forensic scientist, told the court of finding items of interest at the Frank St home, including blood-stained clothing, mattresses, pillows and carpet as well as clothing fibres and hair in a blackberry bush where it is alleged Nia was placed after she fell from the clothesline. In his evidence, ESR forensic scientist Jayshree Patel said blood found on some items of clothing came from Nia.

The trial is in its third week and is expected to take four weeks.