Toddler's fatal injuries mystery, says accused

The man accused of murdering his 3-year-old foster child told an ambulance officer he did not know how the boy sustained the fatal injuries, a court heard yesterday.

Huntly toddler Tamati Pokaia was found dead at the home of his foster family on April 29.

Tamati's foster father, Michael Shane Hamahona Waterhouse, 40, was charged with murder and assault and yesterday appeared in the Hamilton District Court for a depositions hearing.

Child, Youth and Family Services placed Tamati and his 2-year-old brother in the custody of the defendant and his wife last November.

St John Ambulance officer Beverley Newton told the court she had been called to the Huntly address and was met at the front door by Waterhouse's wife.

After being shown to Tamati's bedroom, Mrs Newton saw Waterhouse leaning over the child.

Tamati was blue and showing no signs of life.

He was lying on his back with vomit around his mouth, on the bed beside him and on a towel.

When Mrs Newton lifted Tamati's T-shirt to begin resuscitation, she noticed bruising and swelling around his stomach.

The couple appeared distraught and told her they did not know what had happened to the boy.

Waterhouse told her Tamati had had a bath and then gone to bed.

"He said that the child vomited in bed, then went to the toilet and vomited again."

Mrs Newton said Waterhouse had appeared panicky, but had been helpful and co-operative, even assisting by getting equipment from the ambulance.

She was unable to resuscitate Tamati, and called police to investigate.

Huntly Early Childhood Centre supervisor Joan Craig said Tamati had attended the centre since October 2000.

The Waterhouse family was the third family he had been placed with.

About a month before he was killed, Tamati had turned up with a bruise on his cheek, she said.

"He had bruising on the right-hand side of his face by his cheekbone and eye."

She had asked Tamati what happened but could not recall what he said.

Ms Craig said the centre had a policy of recording any injuries that might have been caused by abuse, but there was no documentation of the bruising and no record of other injuries.

She cried as she told the court of the final hours of Tamati's life, playing with his friends at the childcare centre.

Ms Craig remembered him as a bright, clever and caring child who always looked after his little brother.

On the day he was killed Tamati and his friends had been playing with one of the staff members, making pretend spacecraft to fly to the moon.

"They had cardboard tubes and they decided they were going to make rocket ships," she said.

Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield conceded a prima facie case.

Community magistrate Pat Oettli remanded Waterhouse in custody to appear in the High Court at Hamilton on November 7.