Leith Hutchison was shaken to death by his father. A Coroner is now probing the incident to see if anything could have been done to prevent the killing. Photo / Facebook
The mother of a toddler fatally shaken to death has told a Coroner she had been "screaming out for help" from support agencies with her son but "no one was willing to help".
"I had two little children and no family on the Coast... it was just me.... I wasn't coping," she said.
In April 2015 Leith Hutchison was killed by his father Dane Blake, who became frustrated at his crying and shook him until he lost consciousness.
Blake pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2017 and was sentenced to five years and six months in prison.
Leith, who was 15 months old when he died, was also injured while in Blake's care a month before he died, suffering a broken femur.
Coroner Louella Dunn is now holding an inquest into Leith's death to ascertain whether authorities including police and Oranga Tamariki could have done more to make sure he was safe.
Today Kate Hutchison said after her toddler was injured she was "uneasy" with Blake having unsupervised contact.
But she was under the impression Blake's mother and uncle would be "close by" and her son would be okay.
"I actually didn't want him to [take Leith] but he kept on turning up at my house… it felt like I was under pressure," she said.
Hutchison claimed there was no contact from social workers at all after her son's injury.
At the time her personal life was "spiralling" and she felt she had no choice but to let Blake take Leith.
"I'd just broken up with my partner and everything as it does after a relationship gets pretty down and out," she said.
"At that time I was heartbroken, everything else I wasn't too worried about... I just pushed myself away from everyone, I didn't want to be near anyone.
"I was only really using weed… and then I found meth."
She said that when she noticed bruises on her son she did not report it to police or other agencies.
She went directly to Blake.
"The answers he gave me were plausible," she said.
"I fully regret that now."
Hutchison knew Blake used drugs but "did not know it was that heavy".
A long list of agencies who engaged with Hutchison during Leith's short life including government and non-government agencies like Women's Refuge and Salvation Army was presented to the Coroner.
Yesterday Coroner Dunn heard that Hutchison had been hard to contact and unwilling to engage with some support agencies.
Hutchison said when her relationship broke up she "did not engage as well" as she had been with the agencies supporting her.
But she did not expect their support to "die off".
"I was always willing to engage with services," she said.
"I was the one screaming out for help, but no one was willing to help.
"All I did was try and get the support that I needed, as a solo mum."
Hutchison said there were "a couple of times" she may have pushed support services away but explained that was because she "felt like they weren't actually doing their role".
"It was always focusing on other stuff instead of focusing on the parenting," she said.
Yesterday Coroner Dunn heard evidence from police and members of Blake's family.
It was revealed that a month before he died Leith was injured during a visit with his father.
Despite that, Blake was later allowed further unsupervised access with the little boy.
Family members also spoke of seeing Blake strike the little boy - or being aware of such physical abuse.
No one went to the police and after Leith died some family members initially omitted the information from their statements.
A police officer who led the homicide investigation after Leith died also gave evidence.
She said that "supervised access clearly should have remained until it had been demonstrated that Dane had the ability to parent safely and well".
The officer said in the lead-up to Leith's death his mother's life "took a real downward turn" and it was "clear" Leith needed more safety and support.
"There were signs within the whānau and within friends that things were happening to Leith," the officer said.
"If there had been a putting some safety around Leith through that period of time potentially we could have had a better outcome."
The officer said that safety should have been by way of "independent support" that may have picked what was going on in the child's life.
There was also a lack of information sharing between agencies including the police and Oranga Tamariki.
Coroner Dunn asked the officer:
"If it was to happen again today, this month, this year, would things happen differently in Greymouth?"
The officer replied:
"I think we still have a long way to go… It comes down to experienced resourcing and support .
"It all comes down to communication. Everything here has been about information that was communicated or not communicated and having the right people together at the right times."
The officer hoped there would be "a learning" from the handling of Leith's situation.
The Coroner will also hear evidence about "steps decided on to ensure Leith's safety" after the March incident to his death including specific safety plans and "whether they were adequate and appropriate".
And she would look to determine the role of each agency involved with the toddler before his death and what could be done to prevent other children dying in similar circumstances.
The inquest is set to run for much of this week.
NEWSLETTER
It comes just days after a scathing report by the Chief Ombudsman into the murder of 5-year-old Tauranga boy Malachi Subecz in November 2021.
Over a number of months, Malachi suffered repeated beatings at the hands of his carer Michaela Barriball, including being held under bathwater, burned in a shower and twice thrown against a wall by his hair.
After an investigation, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier last week said Oranga Tamariki failed to take the "bare minimum" action over safety concerns about Malachi.
"Oranga Tamariki's own law and policy puts the wellbeing of a child at the centre of decision-making that affects that child," Boshier said in releasing his report.
"Malachi's wider whānau raised concerns about his welfare at the hands of his carer.
"I can only describe Oranga Tamariki's response as a litany of failures,"
If you are worried about a child or have information about any young person being abused, please contact the police.
Information can be passed on to your local police -
click here for a list of stations and contact details
- or anonymously through the Crimestoppers reporting line on 0800 555 111.
If you're worried about a child you are urged to contact Oranga Tamariki immediately on 0508 326 459; or email contact@mvcot.govt.nz.
If the child or young person is in immediate danger, call police on 111.
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