The mother of a six-month-old boy found limp and unresponsive in his grandmother's home in southern Cairns has told the final day of an inquest she said "sorry" to her son the day before his funeral.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images and names of people who have died.
The coronial inquest into the 2013 death of the child, known as James at the request of his family, has heard he was taken to Cairns Hospital by ambulance but was later declared dead.
An autopsy revealed the child died on February 1 after receiving extensive complex skull fractures as well as older injuries.
Members of James's family as well as police testified earlier this week.
A 'bubbly' baby
James's mother Synoa Tabuai was compelled to speak in court on Wednesday after she was granted a protection so nothing she said could be used against her.
Ms Tabuai, who was 20 when she fell pregnant, said she had done an "alright job of being a single parent" when questioned by counsel assisting the coroner, Molly Mahlouzarides.
But she admitted to sometimes getting "sidetracked" when it came to some aspects of the baby's care, and defended the times she left James with others to go out drinking.
In the weeks before his death several people, including Ms Tabuai's mother, noted James' subdued appearance and told her daughter to take him to a doctor.
On January 15, a doctor noted James' absence of reaction to a finger prick and gave Ms Tabuai a referral along with instructions to take him to the emergency department at Cairns Hospital.
When asked why she did not do so she tearfully responded, "I was just tired from James".
Ms Tabuai was also questioned about her relationship with her sister Danielle and Danielle's husband, Ehammed Anderson, who were both at the house on the night of James's death.
She said their relationship used to be fine, but things changed after she fell pregnant.
She told the court she then had frequent arguments with them, her relationship with her sister was unpredictable, and they no longer speak.
The day in question
Ms Tabuai sobbed through many parts of her testimony of James' final days.
She told the court James had seemed a little unwell on the morning of February 1.
But she denied any rough handling of the child.
After dinner, Ms Tabuai recalled putting James to bed on a mattress on the floor in a room where several members of the family were going to sleep that night.
She said Mr Anderson also went in there to watch TV, and several of the younger children went in and out of the room throughout the evening.
Several people told the court they noted James' laboured breathing later in the evening.
Mr Anderson and Danielle Tabuai said they told Synoa and she dismissed their concerns.
Synoa Tabuai said she was never told.
She said the first she heard there was a problem was when Mr Anderson came outside to where she and Danielle were sitting.
She said she laughed, and when he repeated himself she ran inside to find her son.
Ms Tabuai told the court she picked her son up, screaming that he was not breathing, and carried him out to the hallway where she collapsed.
In court, both Ehammed Anderson and Danielle Tabuai gave a different version, describing Synoa as holding James under the arms and dragging him into the hallway.
'I'm sorry'
Ms Mahlouzarides questioned Synoa Tabuai over an incident at a viewing of James' body the day before his funeral.
"Did you say anything to James?" she asked.
Ms Tabuai responded, "Yes, 'I'm sorry'."
"Why did you say that?" Ms Mahlouzarides asked.
She denied she was apologising because she hurt or knew who had hurt James.
A decade of medical investigations
Paediatric specialist Dr Deanna True and forensic pathologist Dr Paul Botterill both gave evidence and presented their conclusions based on James' autopsy.
They described James' injuries including bruising, internal scalp haemorrhaging, and complex skull fractures.
Dr True said given the severity of James' injuries, and the photographs and witness statements of James' behaviour throughout the day, they could narrow down the time of his injury significantly.
"How the infant was behaving is really critical … [earlier in the evening] he was feeding and sleeping and playing, he was interactive," she said.
"You wouldn't have expected him to be like that having the significant injuries that were found post-mortem."
She said the distinct change in James' breathing was consistent with how a child would usually behave after a significant skull injury.
Dr True said this would have reduced his oxygen levels, later leading to death.
She said there was evidence of previous head injuries, which could have occurred earlier in January, and might have explained his unusual behaviour at the GPs.
But she said those injuries did not contribute to his death.
Coroner Nerida Wilson said she expected to return her findings within the next few months.
