KEY POINTS:
A toddler whose stepfather said she died after slipping in the bathroom had head injuries which a specialist said he'd never seen from a simple fall, a High Court jury has been told.
Warick Broadhurst, 20, is on trial in Auckland for the murder of Arwen Fletcher, who was 23 months old when she died after injuries suffered at her home in Waiuku, 64km south of Auckland, on March 15, 2006.
The crown alleges Arwen died after Broadhurst assaulted her.
In her opening address to the jury of seven men and five women, crown prosecutor Kate Latimer said Broadhurst had moved in with Arwen's mother Molly Fletcher in early 2005.
By March 2006 he and Ms Fletcher had a child of their own and they had since married.
Ms Latimer said Arwen had seemed well when Broadhurst picked her up from a friend about 4.30pm-5pm, but by 8pm he had to take her to a Waiuku medical centre with serious injuries.
She was taken to Middlemore Hospital and later to Starship Hospital, where she died two days later.
Ms Latimer said Broadhurst told the Waiuku doctor, police and Starship staff that Arwen fell in the bathroom shortly after being washed.
He said Arwen got up and walked away but then fell again shortly afterwards and had been incontinent before passing out, Ms Latimer told the court.
Ms Latimer said Starship Hospital specialist Dr Patrick Kelly would give extensive evidence suggesting Arwen did not die the way Broadhurst said she did.
"He said she had a complex and massive skull fracture extending from the front of the skull right the way through to the back of the skull," Ms Latimer said.
"Dr Kelly will tell you that in his many years of experience he has never seen or heard of such a skull fracture resulting from an injury in a child from a simple fall from its own height."
Evidence would also be presented that Arwen had received an earlier head injury which had been attributed to a fall, Ms Latimer said.
She also said a friend of Broadhurst's would give evidence that Broadhurst felt "stressed out" by Arwen and that she reminded him too much of her birth father.
Broadhurst's lawyer Paul Borich said in a brief opening statement that his client had been truthful all along.
"This was a freakish and tragic accident. It is what the accused said on day one to doctors and police and on the video reconstruction," Mr Borich said.
"The crown will try to prove it wasn't, but just remember the case is about proof of what happened, not what didn't happen
"The only way you will convict him is if you rely on speculation, guesswork and sympathy. They have no place in a criminal trial."
Broadhurst was dressed in a black shirt and spent much of the time taking notes when the opening addresses were made.
The trial before Justice Helen Winkelmann is expected to take three weeks.
- NZPA
