WE may never know exactly what led to the tragic death of a six-month-old baby in New Lambton in 2019. But on Tuesday, a Newcastle Supreme Court jury made one thing certain; he was not murdered by Jie William Smith.
Smith, now 31, was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter over the death of the boy at his unit in Fairfield Avenue in the early hours of February 9.
The prosecution case was that Smith was alone with the boy during the crucial two hours when they said he suffered numerous serious injuries, including a fractured skull. But Smith gave evidence during the trial that he had witnessed the boy's mother repeatedly strike and shake the boy before she left the baby with him in his unit.
Lawyers for Smith said he was holding the boy when he likely suffered a seizure from the earlier assault and slipped out of Smith's arms, hitting his head on the ground. Smith said he was "covering" for the boy's mother and waited for years in custody charged with murder for her to do the right thing and tell the truth about what happened.
At the outset of the trial Smith had pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of gross criminal negligence, admitting he should have sought medical attention for the boy before it was too late.
But, for now, the reason for the jury's manslaughter verdict remains unclear.
Either Smith was convicted on the basis that he was negligent or the jury found he had inflicted the injuries that killed the boy but had not intended to kill him or cause grievous bodily harm.
That determination will be made by Justice Helen Wilson when she sentences Smith in November.
Until then, Smith remains behind bars a convicted killer but not a baby murderer, a very important distinction. Before discharging the jury, Justice Wilson identified they may be feeling hollow because it seemed no one was being held responsible for the baby's death.
"But there may be some further police action," Justice Wilson said.
