A South Australian baby who died at the weekend after spending 17 months in hospital will have her case treated as a major crime, police said.
The girl — who cannot be named or pictured for cultural reasons — was born in April 2016, and just 41 days later was found unresponsive in a Whyalla Stuart home.
Police consider her injuries to have resulted from assault and criminal neglect.
She spent the rest of her life — which ended on Saturday — in Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital.
Police laid charges including aggravated assault and criminal neglect against a 27-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman, but they have since been withdrawn by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Detective Inspector Greg Hutchins said the girl had suffered a "significant" brain injury and limb fractures and had needed around-the-clock care.
He said more information was needed from the public now that the girl had died.
"This is truly a tragic case. [The girl] was one of our most vulnerable citizens," he said.
"At the time police responded to the Whyalla Stuart address, she was only 41 days old. [She] deserved better."
He said police were continuing their investigations.
"We've still got a lot more work to do and that is our focus, to gather the evidence, to enable the DPP to lay the appropriate charges," he said.
Detective Inspector Hutchins said the girl's death meant police would now pursue more serious charges — and could not rule out manslaughter or even murder charges.
"This is terribly upsetting … she was a little fighter and she fought a long time, but eventually she passed away last Saturday," he said.
