Ihaka Stokes murder accused Troy Taylor 'would've gone to prison' to cover for the mum

The man accused of murdering Christchurch infant Ihaka Stokes says he would've gone to prison to cover for the boy's mother.

Troy Kevin Taylor, 23, says he lied to detectives the night 14-month-old Ihaka died to protect his then-partner and Ihaka's mother, Mikala Stokes.

The de facto stepfather says a heavily pregnant Stokes inflicted the boy's 59 fatal injuries at the couple's Truman Rd home on July 3, 2015 while he was out getting a tattoo.

Today, Taylor took the stand to testify on day seven of his High Court murder trial in Christchurch.

Taylor told the court he found Ihaka floppy, breathing raspily and unresponsive in his cot on the night he died.

Although he was concerned over the little boy's health, Taylor said he was also worried that Stokes had done something to Ihaka, making him baulk at getting medical help because he didn't want to get her into trouble.

Taylor said he blamed himself every day for "failing" the small child.

"Maybe if I did something, then he would still be here . . . he needed me to step up for him then and I didn't," he told the jury of six women and six men.

After lying in bed for 60 to 90 minutes, Taylor said, "Finally my conscience kicked in and I knew I had to get up and do something but it was too late."

He phoned 111 and he performed CPR on the boy until paramedics turned up.

Today, Taylor said he made sure Stokes accompanied Ihaka in the ambulance to hospital.

Asked by defence counsel Phil Shamy why he did that, Taylor replied: "I didn't want her to talk to the police. I was making the cover. I didn't want her to put herself in it. That's why I made her get out of there."

Soon after, Ihaka died in hospital from what is agreed were not accidental injuries, including broken bones and severe brain injuries.

That night, Taylor was spoken to by police.

He said he "never considered myself a suspect" and that's why he spoke to them willingly.

But later, when they gave him a caution, he thought: "Holy f***. They think it's me".

Taylor said he wasn't worried, however, saying today that he would've "gone to prison for Mikala" if she'd told him that she'd inflicted the boy's injuries.

"She was my best friend. I loved her," he said.

Stokes earlier repeatedly denied accusations that she had harmed the child.

The Crown says Taylor was suffering from sleep deprivation, headaches and irritability caused by multiple concussions around the time Ihaka was developing an ear infection, when the accused allegedly "snapped" and caused the fatal injuries.

Today, Taylor said he was giving evidence and admitting he lied to police that night to "tell the full truth for my son".

"This is not about me. This is about Ihaka, and he deserves the truth," Taylor said.

"This is the last thing I can do for him. I'm not going fail him again.

"I'm not lying to protect myself. I'm not lying to protect anyone else any more. This is for Ihaka."

He repeatedly denied ever harming Ihaka.

Taylor denies assaulting the child on July 2, 2015 - the day before the alleged murder.

But Taylor, who suffered from the effects of a series of concussions, today admitted dropping Ihaka that day during a dizzy spell.

"As I was standing up, I stumbled and it's really all I remember and then Ihaka was on the ground," he said.

In cross-examination, crown prosecutor Mark Zarifeh asked Taylor how the jury could know when he was lying and when he was not.

"I've lied before. I'm not lying now," Taylor said.

"It's up to them to decide."

He added: "I still don't know what happened. I still don't know the full truth."

The trial, before Justice Cameron Mander, continues tomorrow with Taylor still under cross-examination.