A jury has again been unable to reach a unanimous verdict over the death of Hunter Valley toddler Jordan Thompson, nearly two decades later.
The 21-month-old was found unresponsive and rushed to Singleton hospital on March 19, 2005. At the time, the child was under the care of Cecil Patrick Kennedy, who faced a second manslaughter trial in the NSW District Court, after the first trial concluded in September 2023 with a hung jury.
Prosecutors alleged the toddler was given antidepressants by Kennedy, who at the time was in a relationship with his mother, Bernice Swales. But the jury was discharged yesterday after being unable to reach either a unanimous or majority verdict.
During the trial the jury heard Jordan was fussy and crying when Kennedy took him into his bedroom on the morning before he passed away. After that, the toddler was seen to be dozy and unsteady on his feet and vomited, before Ms Swales put him to bed and left to go to the shops.
When she returned, she found her son naked and unresponsive on a bed with Kennedy attempting CPR.
Jordan was rushed to hospital in an unresponsive condition and pronounced dead just before 7pm.
A former nurse, Jodie Frost, was the first health care professional to come to the aid of Ms Swales as she carried her son through the doors of the hospital. "I saw a woman climbing up and over the garden bed with a naked infant in her arms," Ms Frost told the trial. "I saw that the baby was quite pale and very floppy, like a rag doll, and he had blue lips.
Crown prosecutor Kate Nightingale said toxicology analysis found traces of the antidepressant amitriptyline for which Kennedy had a prescription.
The jury heard Kennedy changed his story about what happened to Jordan, initially telling Ms Swales he had either fallen into or out of the bathtub.
He later told police he had left the toddler unattended in the bathtub for about 40 seconds before returning to find him face-down in the water, Ms Nightingale said.
The matter is due to return to court on October 4.
