KEY POINTS:
The family of a four-month-old baby have closed ranks, refusing to tell Nelson police how the child suffered a fractured skull and brain damage during Labour Weekend.
Nelson CIB Detective Sergeant Kevin Tiernan said a number of family and friends had visited the parents' home in Motueka over Labour weekend and police had narrowed the time of the assault down to between the Sunday afternoon and Monday evening.
On the Monday the mother and father, aged 21 and 30 respectively, noticed the boy was unwell and one of them called their mother.
"She came down, took one look and called an ambulance," Mr Tiernan told NZPA.
The child was transferred to Auckland's Starship Hospital, spending more than week in intensive care, and was to be returned to Nelson Hospital tomorrow.
"He's continuing to improve but they won't know the extent of the brain damage until he fails to reach certain milestones as he develops," Mr Tiernan said.
Paediatricians told police serious haemorrhaging to the child's eyes indicated he may have been shaken.
"His head must have hit something to fracture his skull but just the one whack of the head probably wouldn't have caused the extent of damage to his eyes," Mr Tiernan said. "But it's hard to speculate. (However) it's definitely a non-accidental injury."
Mr Tiernan said the family were cooperating in as much as they were making themselves available to police. But they would not volunteer information on what happened or who was responsible.
Mr Tiernan said the public was now well aware police could not force individuals to talk if they chose not to.
"You may think that they know (something), but if they don't say anything you can't do anything.
"We would have liked to have made an arrest on the first day. You just keep talking to people and hopefully (they) come forward with information."
He said a number of suspects had been eliminated but could not say how many people police were still interested in for fear it would alert them.
"It's a matter of just chipping away at the stories and trying to confirm what they tell us as best we can and hope someone comes forward from that small group of people."
Mr Tiernan said whoever was responsible would likely face a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, which carried a maximum sentence of 14 years prison.
The child's parents had also been caring for a 13-month-old child belonging to another family member. That child had since been removed by Child Youth and Family.
- NZPA
