Mother in court charged with murder of twin

A 39-year-old woman went on trial in the High Court in Auckland this morning accused of the murder of one of her eight-month-old twins.

Sharon Anne Harrison-Taylor is accused of killing Gabriel Harrison-Taylor on or about January 15 last year at an address in Mt Wellington.

Harrison-Taylor has denied murdering the boy. She is expected to plead infanticide - a provision that a woman is not fully responsible for her actions due to the balance of her mind being disturbed by the effects of giving birth.


Crown prosecutor Christine Gordon told the jury: "The Crown case is that this is simply a case of child abuse. The accused got angry with Garbiel and she lost her temper."


The trial is before Justice Ellen France and is expected to last two and a half weeks.

- HERALD STAFF