KEY POINTS:
Police investigating the death of the Kahui twins ignored significant evidence against their mother, Macsyna King, and went after their father Chris Kahui instead, a jury heard yesterday.
Kahui's defence lawyer, Lorraine Smith, told the jury in the High Court at Auckland during her closing address that the police investigation had been a disaster. The jury will today begin to decide if Kahui is guilty of killing his twin baby sons, Cru and Chris.
Mrs Smith will finish her closing address this morning before Justice Geoffrey Venning sums up. The jury will then begin deliberations.
Mrs Smith said police focused too much on early medical opinion, since challenged, and ignored significant evidence against Ms King.
"The whole police investigation was, I suggest, a disaster."
Police ignored "obvious pointers" such as the old injuries suffered by the twins although she was their main caregiver and had failed to notice they had 18 broken ribs between them.
The twins were not victims of a one-off assault but had historic injuries, and it was "suspicious" their mother was not aware of these.
The Crown had accused Kahui's defence of blackening Ms King's reputation, but Mrs Smith said Ms King, through abandoning her other children and her drug use, had done that all by herself.
Kahui had given police wrong times for Cru's breathing episode and was genuinely mistaken about that and deserved the benefit of doubt. He had "absolutely no reason to lie" about the time of Cru's breathing episode.
Mistakes he had made during the police interview should not be seen as evidence of guilt.
"Don't forget the position he was in ... look at the way the police were framing the questions."
Mrs Smith said Kahui was an inarticulate 21-year-old whose sons were fatally injured, he was scared and wanted the police to know he was a good father.
"The Crown had advanced a theory which is simply not capable of withstanding proof beyond reasonable doubt."
Mrs Smith said the fact that medical experts could not agree was proof enough that the jury could not be sure, with any certainty, when the twins were injured.
"Especially if two paediatricians can't agree, doesn't that illustrate in the clearest possible way [that no one could know] ... particularly when you are dealing with the burden of beyond reasonable doubt."
Mrs Smith said the jury could not exclude the "reasonable possibility" that Macsyna King had returned to her house about 7pm and injured the twins.
"Whatever happened must have happened about 7pm, coincidentally when Chris Kahui was at the hospital with [his mother] Mona."
