Interim name suppression remains in place for the man charged with causing the death of a Hastings boy, with a formal decision to be made at a later date.
He appeared at High Court in Napier yesterday before Justice Simon France who appeared by audio visual link.
The man pleaded not guilty in February to charges of assault and manslaughter after the death of Matiu Wereta who was taken to Hawke's Bay Hospital from a Flaxmere address on the morning of October 13 last year.
The two-year-old died there the following day.
Family and friends of the defendant filled the public gallery, holding hands and hugging throughout as well as after court.