Multi-tasking manslaughter
A Wellington woman spoke on the phone for more than eight minutes as her 15-month-old baby drowned in the bath, a jury has heard.
She then made two separate calls to her parents, trying to arrange for a rug doctor to clean the carpets later that day.
This will be interesting to see how the jury view this; whether they excuse this mother’s negligence as she has suffered the loss of a child or they hold the woman to account for prioritising the housework above the well being of a child.
Updated 31 October The jury return their verdict.
A Wellington mother has been found not guilty of killing her 13-month-old son, who drowned in the bath while she spoke on the phone.
In the High Court in Wellington this afternoon, a jury of seven men and five woman found the woman’s fatal mistake to talk on the phone for eight minutes while her child bathed was not bad enough too warrant a conviction for manslaughter.
WTF…..her failings did not meet the threshold of criminal liability
Where the hell do they come up with these observations?
Comment by Peter — Tue 29th October 2013 @ 11:27 am
Getting to be second nature in this country. We are all aware how different the outcome would be if the parent was a dad. Amazed the Crown has not implicated the father.
Comment by ian Andersongin — Tue 29th October 2013 @ 2:29 pm
@ Peter. What you are saying, is that it doesn’t really matter what the mother was doing at the time, the question must be, would a reasonable person have gone and done something else and allowed themselves to be distracted while their 13 month old baby is in the bath?
A 13 month old baby is a walking, almost talking baby.
Should the mother have even been brought to court then?
Comment by Downunder — Thu 31st October 2013 @ 1:47 pm
Acquitted Mum speaks up.
This Wellington taxi driver is charged with causing the death of his unborn child.
Both going about their daily lives and have suffered the death of a child, then suffer criminal prosecution.
Is this Police protection in the child industry becoming a little over zealous with these ‘criminal prosecutions.’
Comment by Downunder — Fri 1st November 2013 @ 11:04 am
This is interesting; another baby bath-drowning case goes to court.
Story here.
Comment by Downunder — Mon 4th November 2013 @ 9:37 am
#5 She shouldn’t be worried now. Precedent was set last week.
Comment by golfa — Mon 4th November 2013 @ 9:49 am
I disagree. We don’t yet know the gender of the deceased toddler.
The previous case was a 13month old boy.
Let’s await without prejudice, and see – if the latest infant is female – whether a different judgement is applied.
Comment by OMG You're *&(^%^$&*^ — Mon 4th November 2013 @ 1:09 pm
ABC News – Story here.
The time may have come where women will face a lower threshold of criminal liability with respect to their children.
It will be interesting to see how this case develops.
Comment by Downunder — Tue 17th December 2013 @ 2:08 pm