KEY POINTS:
A man accused of murdering his baby daughter broke down while testifying in court yesterday and said the 10 months since her death had been "utterly disgusting" emotionally.
Kevin Joseph Charles Little has denied murdering 7-month-old Alyssa Patricia Little-Murphy, in Nelson on March 25 last year.
Little told the High Court at Nelson that he was in the bath with Alyssa when the water began getting cold. Getting out, he put his left foot on the bath mat while carrying the baby.
He slipped on a bar of soap or a flannel on the floor, his right leg failed and he fell over, hitting his head.
When he came to, he saw Alyssa face down in the bath.
Under cross-examination by Crown prosecutor Glen Marshall, Little, 27, of Kaitangata, South Otago, denied a 5cm cut on his head was self-inflicted.
He denied putting his hand over Alyssa's mouth or nose to cause asphyxiation.
It was "absurd" to say he murdered his daughter, he said.
People had looked at him sideways in the street since, he said.
"I haven't dealt with any of this because I haven't had the chance to do so. I miss my wee girl so much," he told the court.
Neurosurgeon Grant Gillett told the court he had examined Little in 1989, when he suffered an epileptic seizure after a rugby-related head injury.
Dr Gillett said it was possible Little had had a seizure similar to the one in 1989.
"That is the only way to explain the phenomena I have witnessed," he said.
- NZPA
