Protect the son

Stuff reports:

As her child lay sick and vomiting at home a Morrinsville mother went to play pokies to teach her partner a lesson.

Days later her daughter was dead from a traumatic brain injury.

Well that sure taught him a lesson.

The police, who initially treated Sage’s death as a homicide, have never been able to charge anyone over her death and, last April, closed their investigation, saying there was not sufficient evidence to warrant an arrest.

But yesterday Waikato Hospital doctor Peter Heron told coroner Peter Ryan that he did not believe the minor injuries described by Sage’s mother Kelly Percy and stepfather Adrian Wilson-Minimita could have caused the damage he saw when treating her.

“I find it unlikely,” he said. He believed a more major injury occurred closer to the time of her death.

I think the good doctor is right. Children do not tend to die from minor injuries.

But outside the court, speaking exclusively to the Waikato Times, Ms Percy said she and Mr Wilson-Minimita never did anything to intentionally harm Sage. However, the pair said they would definitely do things differently if they were to do it over again.

They were hoping to do that by winning back custody of the son taken off them after Sage’s death; he was 10 months old at the time.

“We want to be a family,” Mr Wilson-Minimita said.

NOOOOO.

Just days before Sage’s death, Ms Percy went to play the pokies to teach Mr Wilson-Minimita a lesson for staying out all day playing pokies. This was despite Sage still vomiting. Another night the pair went out drinking, taking Sage along.

Twice the pair took Sage to a doctor, but left before being seen.

Need there be any further reasons?