A Hunter mother accused of failing to get medical attention for her seriously injured 20-month-old daughter for nearly five hours as the toddler's condition declined and she ultimately died admitted she did not call an ambulance because of concerns about further attention from Family & Community Services (FACS).
The mother, who cannot be named because it would identify the young girl, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of manslaughter by criminal negligence and faced the first day of a trial in Newcastle District Court on Tuesday.
During her opening address, Crown prosecutor Jillian Kelton told the jury the mother's failure to get medical attention for her daughter as her condition deteriorated on June 19, 2018, amounted to a breach of the duty of care she owed her child.
"And that failure falls so far short of the standard of care that a reasonable person would have exercised in the circumstances and involved such a high risk of death to [the girl] that it is criminal negligence," Ms Kelton said.
The young girl died about 6pm on June 19, 2018, after earlier that day suffering multiple blunt force trauma injuries at the hands of Timothy Whiteley.
Her injuries included six broken ribs, a punctured lung, bleeding on the brain, facial bruises and lacerations to her liver that led to internal bleeding, among other injuries that Ms Kelton said were likely inflicted by multiple punches or kicks.
A number of people visited the home and saw the young girl in the hours after she suffered the injuries and before she died, Ms Kelton said, and the jury would be played CCTV footage from outside the home depicting the girl's condition.
One witness who visited the home is expected to tell the trial she "immediately felt concerned" for the girl.
"[The girl] looked terrible," the witness said. "I've never seen a child look like that." The girl was also variously described as "floppy", "non-responsive", "unable to hold her body weight" and "lifeless".
But the mother did not call triple-zero until the girl stopped breathing about 5pm, nearly five hours after she suffered the injuries.
She later told police she did not get medical assistance because a family friend who was an assistant in nursing had told her just to monitor her, the girl was recovering from pneumonia and she didn't want to take her out in the rain, the girl was improving and "it was as if nothing had really happened" and she was worried about further FACS involvement.
During his opening address, barrister Terry Healey said the mother would be giving evidence during the defence case to tell the jury "what her views were" on the day the girl suffered the injuries and died.
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