one more abuse case in NZ..
Brothers spin kid in dryer in high heat
NZ toddler dies after months of abuse, chilling accounts from child witnesses
November 21, 2008
THE killers looked bored and one wrote a rap song.
The jury was stunned when child witnesses described the horrific abuse they saw.
And the judge wept when she delivered the verdict.
Two New Zealand men were convicted on Tuesday of murdering Nia Glassie, 3, after several months of abuse.
During the four-week trial, the jury heard the child was:
Slapped, punched and kicked
Flung against a wall
Held high in the air and then dropped onto the floor.
Placed in a clothes dryer and spun at high heat
Whirled rapidly on a rotary clothes line until flung off
Subjected to wrestling moves copied from a computer game
Then one day she was kicked so hard, she became unconscious.
She was left lying on a bed while her abusers had a party.
Nia eventually died of brain injuries two weeks after suffering what prosecutors said were fatal kicks to the head inflicted by two brothers, Wiremu Curtis, 19, and Michael Curtis, 22. This was last year Nia's mother, Lisa Kuka, 35, was Wiremu Curtis' partner, and they shared a house with Michael and other adults, the court was told.
The case exposed a circle of family neglect that included the girl's mother, who was found guilty of manslaughter because she failed to protect her child.
The testimony from the child witnesses in the house who cannot be identified was chilling.
This is how one child described the scene when Nia was thrown in the dryer, reported the New Zealand Herald.
Questioner: Who did this (about the dryer)?
Child: Wiremu and Michael Curtis. But it was Michael Pearson's (the dead girl's adult cousin who was found guilty of child cruelty) idea. I said don't do it.
Why did you say this?
Child: Because she's just a little kid. But they told me to shut up.
Another child witness talks about how Nia was kicked. It was this that finally killed her
Questioner: Who kicked her?
Child: Wiremu and Michael.
What with?
Child: With their feet. They kicked Nia in the head (she points to her head).
How many times?
Child: Three times.
Then what happened?
Child: She was falling asleep (became unconscious).
How hard was the kick?
Child: Hard as a rock. Sometimes Nia would bleed but they don't care about it. They just keep on smashing her.
They put her in the corner and they kick her to the wall and she gets bumps on her head.
Throughout the trial, the two men looked bored as the horrific details emerged.
While their lawyer was giving his defence, Wiremu scribbled on a paper towel.
A peek showed it to be some kind of rap song, but the words were incomprehensible.
Prosecutor Fletcher Pilditch said investigators could find no obvious motive for the abuse other than bullying.
'She was bullied in the worst kind of way. She was singled out, for what reason we do not know,' he said.
New Zealand's Children's Commissioner, Dr Cindy Kiro, said the case was all the more shocking because other adults knew the abuse was going on and did nothing about it.
'Both family members and neighbours were aware of the neglect and abuse Nia was subject to,' she said in a statement.
'That they didn't speak out in time is something they will have to live with.'
The case had such an impact in New Zealand that the Justice Ministry is considering toughening up sentences on child abusers, reported the National Business Review.
Justice Minister elect Simon Power said the new government would make introducing legislation within the first 100 days a 'personal priority'.
'Presently the age and vulnerability of a victim is an aggravating factor under that legislation,' he said on Radio New Zealand.
'But one of the first steps we intend to take is to make sure there is a more specific reference point.'
He said at present the maximum sentence for assaulting a child was two years - one year less than the maximum for wilful ill treatment of an animal.
The new National government would review the Sentencing Act and look at whether sentences were adequate and whether judges needed to place the age of a victim ahead of all other aggravating factors in sentencing.
'We must send the message that such acts are obscene,' he said.
