A baby who was severely shaken and dropped repeatedly in the days before his death had become so unresponsive he was dubbed "zombie boy", a court has been told.
Six-month-old Cezar Taylor died in Starship hospital in July last year of injuries police said were consistent with shaking and a blow to the head.
Cezar's mother's then-partner James Allan Hemana, 31, has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty of failing to provide the necessaries of life during his trial in the Auckland High Court this week.
In his opening address, crown prosecutor Josh Shaw told the jury of six men and six women that Cezar had been a happy, healthy child while living with his biological father in Tauranga, The New Zealand Herald reports.
However, when he moved to the Mangere home his mother Victoria Taylor shared with a flatmate and Hemana, her boyfriend developed strong feelings of anger and resentment towards the child.
The court was told Hemana would often yell and swear at the child when he cried, and twice shook him in a violent punching motion and dropped him onto a bed.
Another time, he repeatedly hit the back of the baby's head, sending him flying forward into toys on his walking frame.
After these incidents Cezar became so unresponsive that the flatmate's girlfriend would refer to him as "zombie boy", but Hemana would not allow Ms Taylor to seek medical care.
In his client's defence, lawyer Steve Bonnar said Hemana accepted that he was guilty of manslaughter, but argued he could not have murdered Cezar because he never knew that shaking a baby could cause death.
NZN