Northland father jailed for manslaughter of baby daughter he claimed to have shaken briefly

Maree Kiwana-Makanihi Takuira-Mita Ngahere was just four weeks old when she was killed by her father Jahcey Te Koha Aroha o te Raki Ngahere.

Kaitaia dad Jahcey Ngahere reckoned he shook his 4-week-old daughter vigorously for five or six seconds when she would not take her bottle and started screaming.

But Maree Kiwana-Makanihi Takuira-Mita Ngahere died in the family home that morning and the medical experts said her extensive injuries could not have all been caused by shaking and violence must have been involved.

Yesterday Jahcey Te Koha Aroha o te Raki Ngahere, 23, was jailed for four years and five months in the High Court at Whangārei after earlier pleading guilty to Maree's manslaughter.

Sentencing Judge Justice Grant Powell said we will never know exactly what Ngahere did to Maree on February 19 last year - Ngahere claims to have blacked out and cannot fully remember - but it was clear that the fatal injuries were not just caused by shaking her.

Ngahere pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Maree Kiwana-Makanihi Takuira-Mita Ngahere at their Kaitaia home on February 19 last year and appeared for sentencing before Justice Powell. Ngahere had initially been charged with murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.

He also pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of assaulting a child - his 1-year-old stepson in January 2019 - and one of threatening to kill neighbours in March last year.

At the start of yesterday's sentencing an emotional harm statement was read on behalf of Maree's mother Kirishia Kitiseni and her whanau that outlined the deep grief felt over the baby's tragic death.

She said she would never get over the hurt and anxiety from Maree's death, but was consoled somewhat by the knowledge that her daughter was now being looked after by her two late brothers.

Kitiseni said the tragic death of her baby and associated pain was something she would have to live with every day.

Crown prosecutor Bernadette O'Connor said Ngahere was looking after the baby on the day of her death.

"It's difficult to conceive a much more vulnerable victim than a 4-week-old baby," O'Connor said.

She said an appropriate starting point for sentencing was seven-and-a-half-years jail.

Defence lawyer Arthur Fairley said Ngahere had genuine remorse over the tragic death of his daughter and he suggested a starting point of five years jail.

Maree was born on January 21, 2019 and lived for 35 days before Ngahere took her life.
Ngahere initially told police Maree was crying in her pram so he threw a heavy pillow at her that must have cause bars on the pushchair to fall on her.

However, in a later police interview he said Maree would not take her bottle when he was trying to feed her and stated screaming. He admitted that he had shaken his daughter "vigorously" for five or six seconds.

But medical reports found that Maree's injuries, which included bleeding on her brain, an injury to an eye, small bruises on her scalp and severe bruising to an arm and leg, could not have been caused by just shaking her and violence must have been involved.

Ngahere also said he blacked out and could not remember anything of the incident.

Jahcey Te Koha Aroha o te Raki Ngahere has been jailed for four years and five months for the manslaughter of his 4-week-old daughter Maree. Photo / Tania Whyte

Justice Powell gave a starting point for the sentencing of six years and nine months in jail, which included a three-month uplift for the assault and threatening to kill charges. He then gave Ngahere a 35 per cent discount on the starting point for mitigating factors, including his early guilty pleas, remorse and his difficult upbringing.

The judge did not impose a minimum non-parole period, meaning Ngahere is eligible for parole after serving a third of his sentence.

He said Ngahere would have to live with what he had done to his daughter for the rest of his life.

"You will have to deal with the loss of your daughter by your own hands – a significant burden by itself," Justice Powell said.

He told Ngahere that Maree was only four weeks old at the time and was dependent on him, as her father, entirely.

''You failed.''

Justice Powell said Ngahere had a history of mental health issues, but there were no such issues at the time of Maree's death.