10-month-old Karlos Stephens died from head injuries in Rotorua in November 2014. Photo / Supplied
10-month-old Karlos Stephens died from head injuries in Rotorua in November 2014. Photo / Supplied
She was so upset and angry when police told her dad was to be charged with murdering a twin boy she'd grown close to she changed her statement about him, Shane Roberts' daughter has testified.
Fawn Broughton was on the witness stand in the High Court at Rotorua this afternoon and called by the prosecution to testify against her father Shane Claude Roberts, 60.
Roberts has denied murdering 10-month-old Karlos Stephens at Rotorua on either November 29 or 30, 2014.
In her evidence Broughton accepted when she made her initial 2014 statement she said he had been at one house when the baby died but when re-interviewed last year she claimed he'd been at another.
Challenged by Roberts' lawyer, Max Simpkins, she said she was angry, hurt and very upset when police made her believe that her father had murdered one of the twins she'd bonded with. It was, for this reason, she'd changed her statement.
She told him she'd made the change because of what several police officers said to her, making her believe her father had murdered the baby.
She said when she first saw Karlos her mother had brought him into her room saying they were going to care for him. "He was tiny like a brand new baby."
She said she was happy her family were getting to care for the twins. "It was exciting to have two little boys in my life," she said.
Referred by co-prosecutor Duncan McWilliam to a call she made to her dad to tell him she'd topped her pre-army training course at Burnham, she'd agreed she had asked him to put the twins on, even though they couldn't yet talk.
"I had missed them so much," she told the jury. During that call, her father told her Karlos had the flu.
Shane Claude Roberts is accused of the murder of baby Karlos Stephens. Photo / File
At 7am the next morning her father called saying Karlos had died. "I cried."
When she and her family arrived back in Rotorua from Christchurch she spent about an hour with Karlos at the morgue.
They returned to Homedale St to find "spew" trailing from the lounge to the bathroom doorway. Asked about this she said it was "baby spew".
She insisted baby Karlos was laughing when they connected on the phone. This was contrary to evidence her mother, Rachael Mahia Broughton, earlier gave that he had been crying.
"Shane said he was not very well, he was teething and that he might have the flu. Fawn told him to take him to a doctor."
After Karlos' death, she asked Roberts what happened and he said he didn't know, that he'd put Karlos down and when he went to look at him he was limp.
To Simpkins, Broughton denied the twins' mother, Pamela Stephens, had given her money or equipment to care for the babies.
She said she hadn't met Stephens until Roberts brought her to her house in Homedale St.
Pressed, she remained adamant baby Karlos had been crying not laughing when she and her daughters had him on speakerphone during their visit to Christchurch for Fawn's graduation.
It is anticipated a forensic pathologist will give evidence via video link from the UK tomorrow.
