Daniel Wallis (25) previously denied the murder of 5-month-old Hope Elizabeth McFall-Schultz and was due to stand trial in July.
But when he appeared in the High Court at Invercargill this morning the charge was amended to manslaughter and the defendant entered a guilty plea.
A summary of facts, read in court, outlined Hope’s challenges after she was born in August 2021 - three months premature.
She spent time in Invercargill hospital and Dunedin’s neo-natal unit before going home with her parents in December.
While there, Hope was subject to “extensive care and observations” and on January 19, 2022, she underwent a comprehensive examination by a paediatrician, who determined she was progressing well.
Just two days later, the victim’s mother fed her daughter, read her a book and settled her into a bassinet before going to see friends.
Wallis was left in charge.
Over 12 frantic minutes, the defendant called his friend three times, claiming he had dropped the baby.
During their final phone conversation, the associate asked Wallis if Hope was breathing.
He said “no”.
The woman got to the address and immediately took the baby – who was limp, pale and bleeding from the nose - from him.
Wallis cleaned the scene while his daughter was rushed to hospital, where she was resuscitated and initially stabilised.
The defendant later ran there but was denied entry.
Police found him asleep in the car park.
Hope was transferred to Starship Hospital but died on January 26 last year from “catastrophic” head injuries.
When first spoken to by police, Wallis claimed he had accidentally dropped the baby when he was trying to feed her, and she hit her head on the floor.
He described rolling the girl onto her back and she appeared to “come right”.
However, he said she later became unresponsive and he performed CPR on her in the kitchen.
The blood supposedly caused him to vomit, during which he said he accidentally hit Hope’s head on the bench.
A post mortem two days later proved Wallis’ explanation to be a lie.
Later, the defendant provided an alternative set of facts to prosecutors through his lawyer.
Wallis admitted smacking Hope’s head with an open hand two or three times, which a pathologist said was consistent with injuries.
The man, who has been living in the Nelson region for several months, was declined continued bail by Justice Cameron Mander.
He will be sentenced in August.
