A man who shook his nine-week-old baby causing fatal injuries told relatives, paramedics and investigators the boy had fallen from his bed, a court has heard.
The Supreme Court in Cairns heard a recording of a triple-0 phone call, in which Teavae Bryce Vaevae, 24, pleaded for an ambulance to be dispatched to treat his unresponsive son Kaison.
"C'mon, my baby's not breathing," Vaevae could be heard telling the triple-0 operator during the call on June 6, 2021.
"He was sleeping and he's fallen off the bed and I found him, picked him up and I don't know, he just couldn't breathe properly," he later said on the call.
Once ambulance officers arrived, Vaevae told them he'd been outside smoking and had not seen Kaison fall.
Kaison was taken to Cairns Hospital and then to Townsville, where he was taken off life support three days later, after being diagnosed with irreversible brain damage.
The court heard Kaison was later found to also have a "constellation of other injuries", consistent with shaking, including rib fractures and haemorrhaging in his eyes.
'Ill-equipped' to be a dad
Vaevae maintained his account of what happened for several months, including during a re-enactment with police investigators at the home.
However, in a second interview with police in January 2022, he was confronted with medical evidence from the autopsy report and admitted he shook Kaison.
Vaevae had pleaded guilty to manslaughter at a committal hearing, and was convicted today.
Crown Prosecutor Aaron Dunkerton told the court a sentence of nine years' prison with a non-parole period of five years would be appropriate.
Mr Dunkerton said Vaevae's denials had "compounded the impact of this event on the family".
Many of Kaison's relatives were in court for today's hearing, including the baby's mother Nezi Te Moni.
Kaison's family chose not to make victim impact statements to the court because they were "not wanting to relive the trauma", Mr Dunkerton said.
Sentencing on Wednesday
Defence counsel Frank Richards said Vaevae took on much of the responsibility of caring for Kaison after the baby was born, but that he was "ill-equipped and ill-prepared" for the task.
Mr Richards told the court Vaevae had an unhappy childhood and was a "somewhat emotionally immature man who struggles to communicate his feelings and emotions".
Vaevae learnt during a police interview after Kaison's death that he was not the boy's biological father.
Justice Jim Henry remanded Vaevae in custody and adjourned the case to Wednesday for sentencing.
