A JURY has retired to begin determining the fate of Cecil Patrick Kennedy, accused of causing the death of a toddler at Singleton in 2005.
Kennedy, 51, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter over the death of 21-month-old Jordan Thompson on March 19, 2005 and has spent the last few months on trial in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court.
The prosecution case is that Kennedy gave Jordan anti-depressant medication and was motivated to sedate the toddler to stop him from crying.
The jury was told that traces of those anti-depressants, Endep, were found in a blood sample later taken from the toddler, medication which police later found in Kennedy's wardrobe.
The jury have been told they have a number of potential paths in order to find Kennedy guilty of manslaughter.
Either that he was legally responsible for the baby's death because he either committed an unlawful or dangerous act, by giving him anti-depressants which caused his death, or which substantially caused his death by drowning (in the bath); or that he was criminally negligent because he administered a drug to him and left him in the bath unsupervised, knowing that could cause his death; or that he was criminally negligent when he left him in the bath unsupervised knowing that he was under the influence of a drug, or was unwell, causing his death by drowning.
Kennedy began a relationship with Jordan's mother, Bernice Swales, in November 2004.
On the afternoon of March 19, 2005 Ms Swales went to run some errands and left her son in the care of Kennedy.
When she returned home, Jordan was unresponsive.
She rushed him across the road to Singleton Base Hospital, but he could not be resuscitated.
After listening to weeks of evidence, including testimony from Ms Swales and medical experts, closing addresses and a summation of the evidence and arguments from Judge William Fitzsimmons, the jury retired about 3.30pm on Wednesday.
