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A south Auckland woman accused of murdering her three-year-old son admitted bruising his face a few weeks before he died but was a loving mother, her sister says.
The accused woman's sister told the High Court in Auckland that she was upset to hear the accused woman had caused the bruise and that the woman had been very stressed after a difficult birth in 2005.
The woman, 32, from Otara, and her 27-year-old partner are on trial for murder, wilful ill-treatment and failing to provide the necessaries of life. Both have denied the charges.
The three-year-old boy died on February 1, 2006 after being taken away from his Otara home the day before. The Crown says he was beaten to death with various items including a baseball bat.
Testifying on the third day of the trial, the sister said she helped the accused woman through the birth of her son at their home on November 16, 2005.
The baby was being delivered with its umbilical cord around its neck and its head was turning purple but with the mother's instructions she was able to deliver the baby.
Mother and baby went to hospital straight after but returned a day later, and the following day the woman's three-year-old son was returned to her after previously being looked after in a different house.
"She was really happy when he came back," the sister said.
She said she frequently looked after her sister's older children to take the load off her sister because of stress.
However, the mother didn't let her look after the three-year-old because she said she wanted to get to know him.
In late December the sister noticed a bruise on the three-year-old's face. She said the mother first said her eldest son caused the injury, but a couple of weeks later said she inflicted the bruise, which upset the sister.
She said she saw the woman smack the boy with her hand, but never to excess, and never with an object, and said the woman was a very good and caring mother.
She said she never got to know the co-accused partner very well as he was not often visible when she visited her sister.
She also said she was told Work and Income could be investigating the accused woman about her partner living with them as it could have implications over her benefit.
The trial before a jury of seven women and five men is expected to continue another two weeks.
- NZPA
