The Kahui twins may not have been outwardly distressed by fractured ribs they suffered weeks before their deaths, a pathologist has told a High Court murder trial.
Dr Jane Zuccollo was giving evidence at the Auckland trial of Chris Kahui, who is charged with murdering his three-month-old twins Cru and Chris.
She agreed with a post-mortem report which said both twins were found to have fractured ribs that were between 14 days and four weeks old.
She said the injuries could have been caused by squeezing of the sides of the body.
Dr Zuccollo said the babies would not necessarily have shown any signs of distress from the injuries, though it was possible they would have shown some distress when picked up.
A broken femur bone that baby Chris was found to have suffered would have been between one day and 10 days old.
Dr Zuccollo said the child would clearly have shown distress at this injury if he was conscious, but if it had happened about the time he suffered the brain injuries which led to his death it may not have been noticeable.
The injury would most likely have happened through banging the leg against a hard surface or through pulling the leg.
When questioned about the brain injuries that killed the children, Dr Zuccollo said they were "so similar that I think of them as one injury".
She said the injuries could have happened through the impact on either a hard surface like a floor or a soft surface such as a pillow or mattress and would only take seconds to inflict.
