A South African-born man "violently" threw or forced his baby daughter's head against a hard surface that left her brain damaged and eventually killed her, an Auckland court was told today.
Azees Mahomed, 31, is accused of murdering his 11-week-old daughter, Tahani Mahomed, who died in Auckland's Starship Hospital on New Year's Day 2008.
The baby was admitted to Middlemore Hospital in December 28, 2007 suffering from severe head injuries.
Azees Mahomed also faces two charges of causing his daughter grievous bodily harm for allegedly breaking her leg between October 7, 2007, and December 26, 2007, and inflicting a head injury causing brain damage.
There was also an additional charge of neglect for failing to provide her with the necessaries life on about December 27-28 , which was when the Crown said the little girl was murdered.
The girl's mother Tabbasum Mahomed, 26, is charged with neglect by failing to provide the necessaries of life.
Both parents have denied the charges.
They sat side-by-side in the dock, with an interpreter helping Azees Mahomed.
In his opening address at the High Court at Auckland today prosecutor Phil Hamlin said when Tahani was born she was a good weight and health, but that soon changed.
"In 11 weeks, baby Tahani has been neglected and not fed. In 11 weeks, baby Tahani has been left in a hot car for hours.
"In 11 weeks, baby Tahani has brain injury from the first injury she suffered.
"In 11 weeks, baby Tahani was the victim of the second and fatal head injury," he said.
When she arrived at Middlemore Hospital doctors found her to be severely "malnourished", estimating her weight to be only four kilograms which meant she had hardly put on any weight since she was born.
Mr Hamlin said the Crown case was firstly about the killing of Tahani by her father and the other injuries he inflicted and then of the neglect both parents showed when they didn't get her help "when she most needed it".
During her weeks alive she was in the sole care of her parents, Mr Hamlin said.
"This child was not injured in a car crash. The child was killed by someone and in the end it came down to two people, Mr and Mrs Mahomed."
When doctors examined the girl they found her breathing to be shallow and irregular, her arms and legs were extended "abnormally" and crossed over and the soft area on her head was "bulging".
A post-mortem revealed her retina had detached, her skull was fractured and there was nerve damage to her spinal cord. The Crown said the injuries could only have been caused non-accidentally, through rapid acceleration and deceleration.
"All of them happened at the same time, within a few shakes and a few hits of each other. Baby Tahani was shaken or slammed against a hard surface."
He said Tahani couldn't have injured herself but had been killed by someone. "This child wasn't even running around to cause (injuries) herself."
When asked for an explanation at the hospital Tabbasum Mahomed said the baby had been "startled" or frightened the night before but that she had been reacting and smiling on the way to the hospital.
Neither she nor her husband could explain how the child came to be critically injured.
The Crown will call 50 witnesses during the trial which has been set down for three weeks, with a jury of eight women and four men.
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