KEY POINTS:
Alyssa Wilson was just 4 months old when she was shaken so violently that her brain stem was fatally damaged - but no one will be brought to justice for the little girl's death.
Yesterday's inquest - at which no family members were present - heard that at
the time of her death three years ago the West Auckland baby had a number of other injuries, including a 9.5cm fracture to her skull.
Coroner Murray Jamieson asked the officer in charge of the case, Detective Sergeant Murray Free, to read from some of the evidence, saying "Alyssa's memory at least deserves a degree of recognition from this court".
Alyssa's father, Joseph Wilson, was charged with manslaughter but two trials ended with hung juries.
Last year, a third trial had to be aborted after one of Mr Wilson's relatives spoke to a juror.
The inquest heard the Crown decided not to proceed with a fourth trial and on December 6 last year the charge against Mr Wilson was withdrawn.
That means he cannot be charged again with Alyssa's manslaughter or murder, even if new evidence comes to light.
No one else is facing charges in relation to her death so the case will now be closed without anyone ever being held accountable.
Dr Jamieson yesterday ruled that Alyssa died in the Starship hospital in June 2004 as a result of severe brain injuries caused by "violent shaking".
None of Alyssa's family - whom police found unco-operative during the investigation - attended the inquest, despite being told the date.
Besides the coroner, the only other people present to hear about the final chapter of her life were the Herald, Mr Free and inquest officer Paul Herman.
Alyssa's mother, Wikitoria Kem, told the Herald last night from her home in Massey that her daughter's death was "a long time ago". She was no longer with Mr Wilson and had no further comment to make.
According to the summary of facts, Ms Kem went to a BBQ on the afternoon of June 27, 2004, leaving Alyssa with her father. Ms Kem's brother Tamati Kem was also home but in an upstairs area separate from the downstairs unit.
About 5pm Mr Wilson took Alyssa upstairs, telling Mr Kem he was having trouble waking her.
Mr Kem phoned his father, who arrived with other relatives from the BBQ.
Alyssa was taken to Westcare Accident and Emergency, where she was found to be in a critical condition. She was rushed to the Starship and died the following evening.
Experts agreed that her injuries were not accidental and her father was charged with manslaughter.
During the trial Mr Wilson's defence was that he wasn't the only person in the house at the time Alyssa was injured so the jury couldn't prove beyond reasonable doubt that he was responsible. This was despite police never having any evidence that Mr Kem was responsible.
Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro said Alyssa's case highlighted the need for more public awareness around the dangers of shaking babies.
"It's something that I know paediatricians have said will make a big difference. If people stopped doing that [shaking babies], it would stop a lot of brian injury and in some cases death."
Yesterday's inquest was held as the Government launched a $14 million Campaign for Action on Family Violence, which aims to promote awareness and push the message that family violence is unacceptable.