KEY POINTS:
The little girl whose ordeal unleashed this week's outrage about child abuse has died in the Starship hospital.
Three-year-old Nia Glassie, who was allegedly spun in a tumble dryer, died yesterday afternoon, eight days after she was flown to the Starship with serious injuries.
She had twice been admitted to Rotorua Hospital before being rushed to Auckland, and spent the past week "profoundly comatose and dependent on a ventilator".
A Starship spokeswoman said Nia was taken off the ventilator yesterday and died at 4.12pm.
Her death came as police revealed they were investigating the case of another toddler in the Starship with serious injuries.
Five people, including Nia's 17-year-old stepfather, have already been charged in relation to the abuse she allegedly suffered.
Police said last night that it was too early to say if those charges would now be upgraded.
Te Arawa kaumatua Toby Curtis, spokesman for the whanau of three of the accused, described Nia's death as "very, very sad".
The whanau would meet Nia's mother's family to express their "inner thoughts and prayers".
Nia's maternal grandmother, Polly Kuku, told TV One's Close Up she had offered her daughter love, but because she also held her responsible for Nia's injuries she would not comfort her.
"Surely there were some signs of something she could have seen and told us about, but she never said anything."
Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Loper said police were awaiting the results of this morning's autopsy before considering the next steps in the inquiry.
However, Rotorua coroner Dr Wallace Bain immediately launched his own inquiry under the Coroners Act.
Meanwhile, police said yesterday they were investigating the case of an 18-month-old boy in the Starship with serious arm and leg injuries.
The injuries were believed to have occurred on separate occasions and were two to four weeks old, but no prior medical attention had been sought.
