Father who killed baby loses appeal

File photo / APN

The Court of Appeal has upheld the majority jury verdict in the case of Joshua Woodcock, who was found guilty of the manslaughter of his three month-old daughter Sarah.

The toddler died in March 2005 from a brain haemorrhage resulting from a skull fracture, but a post-mortem found she had suffered other substantial injuries in the days before her death, including eight rib fractures and a haemorrhage in her left chest wall, most likely caused by an adult leaning on her chest with a knee.

Woodcock, from Putaruru in south Waikato, pleaded not guilty to her murder, with his defence being that the jury could not be sure that he was responsible for the fatal injury because it could not exclude that Sarah's mother, Jaymie Haddock, was responsible.

He was acquitted after a High Court trial at Rotorua last year of murder, but the jury - by a majority of 11 to one - found him guilty of manslaughter and four other charges, including grievous bodily harm and assault of a child. It was unanimous on finding him guilty of wilful neglect.

He was sentenced to 12 years' prison.

Woodcock appealed against his convictions, the main plank being that the trial judge, Justice Edwin Wylie, improperly directed the jury about its power to return majority verdicts. He also appealed against his sentence, saying it was manifestly excessive.

But the appeal court dismissed the appeal, saying the trial judge's directions complied with the law.

On the issue of sentence, the court noted it was consistent with similar cases involving the violent and brutal treatment of children.

"The elements of deliberation, force and vulnerability of a three-month-old child placed the circumstances of this offending in a serious category. (Indeed, Mr Woodcock may have been fortunate to have escaped a conviction for murder)," said Justices Robert Chambers, Terence Arnold and Rhys Harrison in their decision released today.

Haydock gave evidence for the Crown at Woodcock's trial. She was convicted at an earlier trial and sentenced to 2-1/2 years prison for wilful neglect, arising from the delay in seeking medical assistance for Sarah following her ultimately fatal injury.

- NZPA