KEY POINTS:
The tumble dryer that Nia Glassie was allegedly placed in reached 65C when turned on high, the High Court at Rotorua has heard.
Electrician Malcolm Lofroth, who tested the Simpson dryer for police, yesterday told the court the temperature inside the dryer reached 47C after three minutes and a maximum of 65C after nine minutes and 30 seconds. He ran it on high for 18 minutes.
A child witness had said Nia was put in the dryer set on high for about 20 minutes. The child said Nia was hot and had a bleeding nose when taken out.
Mr Lofroth said the particular model of dryer did 56 revolutions a minute, or just less than one a second. He said it was not easy to get a child mannequin into the dryer during a test.
Three of the five people accused of killing 3-year-old Nia allegedly spun her in a dryer before she died.
The Crown also alleges the toddler suffered numerous other assaults, the final one on July 20 last year and involving Nia being kicked in the head by brothers Wiremu and Michael Curtis and falling into a terminal coma.
The court also heard from forensic investigators, who said they found 19 bloodstains at the Frank St house where Nia lived.
The stains were on the dryer, furniture, bedding and clothing.
Environmental Science and Research scientist Jayshree Patel said blood on two items of children's clothing from the house matched Nia's DNA, and a bloodstain on the outside of the dryer and another on a pair of jeans worn by Nia when she was admitted to hospital belonged to the same unknown male.
Nia was taken to hospital in a coma on July 22 after her aunt, Louise Kuka, saw her frothing at the mouth and clenching her jaw in the early hours of the morning.
Nia's mother, Lisa Kuka, and Wiremu Curtis went with Louise Kuka and Nia to Rotorua Hospital.
At the hospital, Louise Kuka said, Curtis walked out of the room when doctors began asking what had happened to Nia.
She followed him and said to him, "Did you do that to Nia? I heard she fell off your shoulders."
He replied, "You don't know nothing."
Louise Kuka told the court she had heard from her son, Tuhoe, of Nia's fall off Wiremu's shoulders.
She was adamant Nia was fine 36 hours before she took her to hospital, even though Nia had not responded to her when she visited Frank St. Louise Kuka said this was not unusual because Nia was very quiet and shy.
