A jury deciding the case of the man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend's baby have retired to consider their verdict.
James Hemana is on trial in the High Court at Auckland for violently shaking 6-month-old Cezar Taylor. He has pleaded not guilty to murder but has admitted failing to provide the necessaries of life.
The Crown says Hemana "gambled'' with the baby's life when he grabbed the Cezar by the leg and shook him violently before dropping him head-first on to his bed.
In his closing on Monday, Crown prosecutor Phil Hamlin said Hemana called baby Cezar "Zombie Boy'' in July last year, shortly before the baby died of severe head injuries.
"My point is, he must have known something is wrong with the child to be calling it `Zombie Boy'. It also shows he does not have that much of a regard for the child.''
He said Hemana used violence to try to control his girlfriend Victoria Taylor and Cezar. The prosecutor showed family photographs to the jury that showed the mother and child with bruises on their faces.
"The evidence you've heard shows how this boy was killed, how he was killed at the hands of Mr Hemana.''
Hemana is alleged to have put Cezar in a baby walker before slapping him in the back of the head three times. Cezar's head flung forward and hit the tray and toys on the walker, the court was told.
Three days later, Hemana was woken by Cezar crying and is alleged to have grabbed the baby by the front of his stretch-and-grow pyjamas and vigorously shook him in a "punching'' motion.
The Crown says that the following week, Hemana attacked the baby again.
"He grabbed the child's leg, pulled him up to shoulder height as he [Hemana] was standing. He [Hemana] was shaking him vigorously and dropped him.''
Hemana's lawyer Steve Bonnar said his client may be rough but he was not evil.
He said the defence case could be summed up in a text message Hemana sent to Victoria Taylor after it was suggested he had punched the child in the head: "I might be rough, but I'm not f****** evil like that,'' it said.
"He has been rough and he's caused Cezar's death and he's going to answer for it. He might be rough but he's not evil like that. He's guilty of manslaughter, he's not guilty of murder,'' Mr Bonnar said.
The key issue for the jury to decide was whether Hemana knew his actions were likely to cause injury or death and whether the six-second shaking incident was "calculated and planned'' as the Crown had suggested.
"The defence simply say to you that this is much much, much, much more consistent with a complete lack of thought.
"If he didn't even think about it, if he didn't even turn his mind to it, that's not murderous intent, that's manslaughter.''
Mr Bonnar said a feature of the trial had been the constant attempts by the Crown to create prejudice against Hemana in the jurors' minds.
It was natural for them to be abhorred by the death of a child, he said, but they could not let that influence their decision.
"A baby has died and it offends us, It offends us as a community. It offends our sense of justice that an innocent child has died, but you don't remove that injustice by creating another injustice and, if you don't consider this calmly and clearly, that's the danger.''
TIME LINE
January 21: Cezar is born to 20-year-old Victoria Taylor.
May 21: Ms Taylor, her younger sister and James Hemana move in to a house in Mangere
July 2: Hemana alleged to have hit Cezar in the back of the head and the child's head banged into a hard surface.
July 6: Hemana is alleged to have violently shaken baby Cezar..
July 13: Hemana alleged to have picked Cezar up by the leg and shaken him before dropping him into his cot
July 23: Cezar admitted to hospital with severe brain injuries
July 28: Cezar dies 10 minutes after life support is turned off. The same day, police locate and arrest Hemana.
- Edward Gay, APNZ court reporter
