NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Callous act: Mum left daughter to die while she went to the pub because she was 'faking it'

NZ Herald
21 Aug, 2020 07:21 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Robyn Goldie with her mother Sharon Goldie.

Robyn Goldie with her mother Sharon Goldie.

A callous mother left her dying daughter to go to the pub before returning to find her lifeless after she thought she was "faking it".

Robyn Goldie, 13, had begged her mum Sharon Goldie to get medical help just days before she died, complaining she was sore all over her body.

But Sharon, 45, from Scotland, instead accused her daughter of "attention seeking" and even yelled at her to get inside after running to the neighbours for help.

On the day of her daughter's death, Sharon went to the pub instead of helping her dying daughter.

When she returned home, she found the teen unresponsive slumped across the couch.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She then went and grabbed a drink from the fridge before heading outside with a friend. Minutes later when she checked on Robyn again, she was dead.

Sharon was informed Robyn had suffered from a burst stomach ulcer - a condition she would have recovered from if it had been discovered.

An ambulance was called - but Sharon told paramedics: "She's at it," the court heard.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

On then being told her daughter had passed away, a suddenly "wailing" Sharon stated: "No, she cannot be."

Sharon appeared before the court to plead guilty to a charge under the Children and Young Persons Act of wilfully ill-treating and neglecting Robyn.

Prosecutors accepted her not-guilty pleas to the culpable homicide of her daughter.

The judge in the Glasgow High Court had heard Robyn had moved in with her grandmother at age four.

She had been placed on the child protection register after Sharon was found to be drunk while caring for her daughter.

Robyn returned to her mum's care in 2017. She suffered a year of neglect before her death, including being forced to asked someone for a dollar to get food.

Robyn Goldie with her mother Sharon Goldie.
Robyn Goldie with her mother Sharon Goldie.

Prosecutor Ashley Edwards QC said: "Goldie [Sharon] was offered - on various occasions - the opportunity to attend parenting classes. She declined to attend."

Sharon's drinking became an issue causing "friction" with her daughter. Edwards said, "Goldie asked for [Robyn] to be removed from her care."

Sharon's house reportedly stunk of cat urine, with Robyn coming out in a rash caused by fleas.

The 13-year-old was also found to be "thin, dirty and unkempt".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"On an occasion [at the pub], Sharon was heard to say: 'I am f***ing sick of her. I wish she would go back and stay with her gran'."

The court heard Robyn would also film Sharon - who slapped and bit her daughter - screaming at her.

The week before her death, Robyn was given painkillers after complaining of a sore stomach and legs.

On July 21, Goldie then told staff at the Melody Bar she had locked her daughter in the house "so she could not get out".

The next day, Robyn complained to a friend she had been ill and not eaten for days.

The next morning, Robyn begged a neighbour to get her an ambulance as she could not breathe, only for her mother to yell at her to "get in".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

On July 26 - the day Robyn died - it is "thought likely" an ulcer in the teenager's stomach burst, the court heard.

Edwards told the court: "She [Sharon] said she had told Robyn that ambulances are for people with heart attacks."

Sharon has been given bail.

Lord Beckett said: "It is a serious case, but I want more information before deciding what to do."

Sharon will learn her fate next month.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

live
World

Live: One survivor, at least 260 dead after Air India flight crashes

12 Jun 07:07 PM
WorldUpdated

Miracle survivor found in plane crash that killed 260 in India

12 Jun 07:07 PM
Premium
WorldUpdated

Tanks, choppers and a $75m bill: Trump gears up for 'big, beautiful' military parade

12 Jun 07:04 PM

It was just a stopover – 18 months later, they call it home

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Live: One survivor, at least 260 dead after Air India flight crashes
live

Live: One survivor, at least 260 dead after Air India flight crashes

12 Jun 07:07 PM

Prime Minister Modi called the crash 'heartbreaking beyond words'.

Miracle survivor found in plane crash that killed 260 in India

Miracle survivor found in plane crash that killed 260 in India

12 Jun 07:07 PM
Premium
Tanks, choppers and a $75m bill: Trump gears up for 'big, beautiful' military parade

Tanks, choppers and a $75m bill: Trump gears up for 'big, beautiful' military parade

12 Jun 07:04 PM
Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault retrial in New York ends in mistrial

Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault retrial in New York ends in mistrial

12 Jun 06:56 PM
The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE
sponsored

The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search