An Alice Springs man accused of manslaughter and unlawful sexual intercourse with a baby has faced court in Alice Springs.
During the first day of the Supreme Court trial into the death of five-month-old baby Michael Smedley on July 26, 2012, prosecutors alleged that he died as a result of injuries he received while in the care of Oliver Deighton, who was 20 years old at the time.
Appearing before court, Mr Deighton pleaded not guilty to all of his charges.
Prosecutor Stephen Robson said he did not accept the version of events given to police by Mr Deighton — that he went to answer the door while changing baby Michael, returned to find him falling from the change table and then caught him.
"[Mr Deighton] recklessly brought about the death of Michael … Michael's death was no accident, Michael didn't die of natural causes," Mr Robson said.
Mr Robson asserted that the cause of death was a traumatic head injury, similar to "shaken baby syndrome".
Accused changed his version of events, prosecution says
In outlining their case to the jury, the prosecution said the case was circumstantial as there were no eyewitnesses to confirm what happened.
They also said there was no DNA evidence to link it to Mr Deighton.
But Mr Robson said no other person could have been responsible for the alleged sexual intercourse, because Mr Deighton was the only person home with the baby at the time he alleged the injuries were sustained.
Though the prosecution acknowledged that Mr Deighton denied touching the baby in any sexual way, it also argued that he changed his account of what happened during different interviews with police.
They said in his initial written statement, Mr Deighton said nothing remarkable had occurred while Michael was in his care.
However, the following day, they said he spoke to police again, outlining the baby's alleged fall from the change table.
The prosecution said, in that account, Mr Deighton claimed to have caught Michael as he fell — recounting the baby then did not cry but exhaled and began hiccupping — after which Mr Deighton said he had unsuccessfully tried to feed baby Michael before returning him to the cot.
Mr Deighton then said he found baby Michael pale and limp later on that day, the prosecution claimed.
Counsel for the accused will respond to the prosecution's opening statements on Tuesday.
The prosecution indicated that dozens of witnesses will be called upon to give evidence during the trial, which is due to run for several weeks.
