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A babysitter who last week pleaded guilty to murdering a 10-month-old baby has been sentenced to life-imprisonment with a non-parole period of 17 years.
Justice John Hansen in the High Court in Auckland also gave Tiana Mary-Anne Odessa Kapea a three-year term for cruelty to a child, to be served concurrently.
Kapea, 30, was caring for Jyniah Mary Te Awa when she was taken from a Manurewa house to Middlemore Hospital in September last year, suffering from a brain injury.
Jyniah was transferred to Starship Hospital but died the next day.
Twenty members of Jyniah's family and a small handful of supporters of Kapea were at court for her sentencing today.
Jyniah's relatives wore T-shirts in court with slogans demanding justice for the little girl.
They burst into spontaneous applause when the sentence was announced.
During her short life, Jyniah was held against a gas heater, swung around by her hair, hung on the back of a wardrobe door and put in a closed freezer several times.
She died from injuries after being kicked, thrown against a wall, shaken and smothered.
Justice Hansen said the summary of facts made "grim reading".
The extended period of cruelty and the nature of the injuries inflicted on Jyniah warranted a minimum parole period of 17 years, he said.
As she made her guilty pleas last Wednesday, Kapea struggled to say the word "guilty" and began crying as she stood with her head bowed.
Jyniah had been a thriving baby. Doctors who had seen her for check-ups and immunisations described her as "interactive", "well nourished" and a "delightful baby girl".
Jyniah's mother Lisa Cassidy, said her daughter's death and the trial been "a devastating road".
"[Kapea] thinks jail is bad - try living without your baby for the rest of your life."
- With NZPA and NEWSTALK ZB
