A former childcare centre director jailed for leaving a toddler on a minibus, causing his death, has told a court he asked his colleague Dionne Batrice Grills to help the boy get off the vehicle.
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains an image of a person who has died.
But the court also heard Michael Glenn Lewis only disclosed that to police on the day he was sentenced to a six-year jail term for manslaughter.
Maliq "Meeky" Nicholas Floyd Namok-Malamoo, three, died of heat stress on the Edmonton Goodstart Early Learning Centre minibus after he was left on board for several hours on February 18, 2020.
Meeky had been collected from his home and taken to the childcare centre in the bus driven by Lewis.
Ms Grills, 36, the other educator on the bus that day, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.
The Supreme Court in Cairns heard police went to the watchhouse to speak with Lewis when was jailed in February 2021 and asked him if there were "any gaps [he] would like to fill".
Lewis asked the officers whether they were "trying to go after Dionne", and confirmed he was aware a magistrate had dismissed the manslaughter charge against her at a committal hearing.
The court was told Lewis asked police: "How has she got off?"
"And then, for the first time to a person in authority, you said: 'I told her to get him?'" defence counsel Tony Kimmins asked.
"Yes," Lewis replied.
Mr Kimmins put to Lewis that "it was quite clear you were very, very upset that Dionne got off the charge".
"I don't know that upset is the word that I would use," Lewis said.
The court heard that Lewis had told the police: "I hope you guys can get Dionne, honest to God".
"And by that you meant get her convicted of the charge?" Mr Kimmins asked.
"Yes," Lewis replied.
'You get him, I got to go'
In February 2020 Ms Grills was the childcare centre's before- and after-school care coordinator and was mainly responsible for primary school-aged children.
The court heard Lewis had expected Ms Grills to pick Meeky up that morning on one of the childcare centre's regular bus runs, in the absence of another staff member.
The court heard Ms Grills did not do the bus run and that it was about 9:30am when she and Mr Lewis went to pick the toddler up.
Lewis had returned from Brisbane late the night before and was running late for an important meeting, the court heard.
He told the court Meeky was "exceptionally quiet" and that Ms Grills was, on that occasion, "quiet, reserved [and] very withdrawn".
Lewis said when they arrived back at the childcare centre with Meeky, he told Ms Grills "you get him, I got to go".
He told the court Ms Grills did not respond and he could not say whether she heard.
Toddler found at school
A few minutes later, Lewis returned to the bus and drove to the meeting he was an hour late to.
He did not return to the vehicle until about 2pm, when the meeting finished.
Lewis went to get fuel and collected his assistant director from Edmonton Goodstart to pick up a group of children from Hambledon State School.
It was at the school that Meeky's body was found.
Under re-examination from prosecutor Nathan Crane, Lewis told the court he did not bring up what he had told Ms Grills during his own plea hearing because he "didn't think it was all that relevant".
The trial, before Justice Peter Applegarth, continues.
