KEY POINTS:
NELSON - A South Otago man accused of murdering his seven-month-old daughter while in the bath with her was visibly upset today as the High Court in Nelson listened to a tape of his 111 call for help.
Kevin Joseph Charles Little, 27, of Kaitangata, is charged with the murder of Alyssa Patricia Little-Murphy in Nelson on March 25 2006.
Little, who has been composed throughout the trial so far, put his head in his hands and wiped away tears as the court listened to his distressed call to a 111 operator. Much of what he said on the tape was incomprehensible as he cried and whimpered.
One of the 12 jurors also wiped tears from her eyes throughout the recording.
Earlier, the court had heard evidence from the father of the baby's mother, Little's former partner, Chontelle Murphy.
Gordon Stackhouse had employed Little in his landscaping and gardening business for a few weeks before Alyssa's death, after Little had given up his management job due to stress.
He told the court that Little had told him he would only move out of the house he and Miss Murphy had been sharing if he got custody of the baby, following a breakdown in his and Miss Murphy's relationship.
Mr Stackhouse said he spoke with Little after Alyssa died, when Little came to the house with his father and brother to see Alyssa's body lying in her coffin. When asked what had happened, Little said: "I just don't know."
"He said he had one foot on the blue (bath) mat and one foot in the bath. He said 'I think I slipped on something in the bath'. Soap I presume."
Mr Stackhouse said Little told him he had the baby on his hip and didn't know what happened to her after he slipped.
Mr Stackhouse commented that if he had slipped standing as he said he was he must have hurt his groin area.
Little looked at him aggressively and told him that he had lost his baby too, Mr Stackhouse told the court.
Under cross-examination Constable Keith Jordan, who was one of the first emergency personnel to the scene, said he had looked into the filled bath and had seen bath toys floating on top, as well as several items on the bottom, including the plug and faeces.
Defence counsel Anne Stevens suggested that an evidential photograph of the bath appeared to show a bar of soap also on the bottom of the bath, but Mr Jordan said he did not know what it was.
The case is proceeding.
- NZPA
