THE mother of a six-month-old baby who was killed at New Lambton in 2019 has told a court "justice has not been served" after her ex-partner was acquitted of murdering the boy and said she would never hurt her children.
Jie William Smith, 31, was in July found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter over the death of the boy at his unit in Fairfield Avenue in the early hours of February 9, 2019.
The prosecution case was that Smith was alone with the boy during the crucial two hours when they said he suffered numerous serious injuries, including a fractured skull.
But Smith gave evidence during the trial that he had witnessed the boy's mother repeatedly strike and shake the boy before she left the baby with him in his unit.
Smith said he was "covering" for the boy's mother and waited for years in custody charged with murder for her to do the right thing and tell the truth about what happened.
At the outset of the trial, Smith had pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of gross criminal negligence, admitting he should have sought medical attention for the boy before it was too late.
It is unclear on what basis the jury found Smith guilty; whether he struck the child but did not intend to cause him serious injury or that he was negligent.
Justice Helen Wilson is expected to make that determination when Smith is sentenced next week.
On Thursday, the boy's mother read a victim impact statement, saying she felt that justice had not been done for her son after Smith's murder acquittal.
"I didn't know at the time but I was suffering postnatal depression," she said. "I know I wasn't the best mum, but I was a good mum. I would never hurt my baby."
