Kuka, Michael Curtis's partner Oriwa Kemp, 18, and Nia's cousin Michael Pearson, 20, face manslaughter counts.
Apart from Kuka, the others are also accused of multiple less serious offences.
At the start of the trial, Wiremu Curtis admitted two assaults against older children by performing wrestling moves on them and Kemp pleaded guilty to assaulting Nia and two other girls by throwing shoes at them.
The Crown alleges the Curtis brothers murdered Nia by kicking her in the head on the evening of July 20 last year.
Evidence was given that Nia lay in a coma for 36 hours before her mother and an aunt took her to Rotorua Hospital.
She died from brain trauma injuries in Auckland's Starship Hospital on August 3, 2007.
Expert medical witnesses were unable to say definitely whether the toddler's life could have been saved had she been taken to hospital sooner, said Mr Le'au'anae.
"She may have died anyway."
He submitted that Kuka was not guilty on two counts of manslaughter by failing to seek medical attention for her daughter and failing to protect the little girl from violence.
She worked from "dawn until dusk" in a kiwifruit packhorse at Te Puke and did not know what was happening at home, he said.
Lisa Kuka "might be a lot of things" but she was not the stereotype many people had of a mother who left her children " on the domestic purposes benefit, having parties at home, out on the turps, playing the pokies".
"Nothing could be further from the truth."
Drawing on accounts from witnesses, Mr Le'au'anae painted a poignant word picture of a three-year-old girl alone, in grubby clothes, hungry.
It was an image of "an unloved, uncared for, unwanted, pathetic figure", he said.
"That is a picture you might associate with some of the accused, but not with Lisa Kuka."
Jurors would have imprinted on their minds the last conscious action of Nia Glassie, said Mr Le'au'anae.
After a long day at work on July 20 last year, Lisa Kuka arrived home about 7pm to check on the household before returning her brother's car.
Nia went to the sliding door "and she cried. She wanted to go for a ride with mummy".
Instead of taking her youngest child, putting her into the car and driving off, Kuka said: "No, stay there and have your tea."
By the time the mother returned 30 or 40 minutes later, little Nia was in bed, seemingly asleep, Mr Le'au'anae said.
The jury would have to reach its own conclusion when Kuka knew the toddler was more than asleep, but in a coma.
He said the reason Nia had cried earlier was that she wanted to go with her mum.
"She was three-years-old and had developed that loving, caring relationship with her mother."
Halfway through Mr Le'au'anae's closing address a prison guard handed a note to a court officer, who passed it on to the registrar, who then gave it to the judge.
Justice Judith Potter interrupted the lawyer and called for a 10 minute adjournment. One of the accused needed a "comfort stop", she said.
Justice Potter will sum up to the jury on Monday, before they deliberate on their verdicts.
- NZPA