Toddler’s horrific injuries are revealed after the little boy, 2, was allegedly bashed to death by his mum’s boyfriend and left to die for up to an hour
A toddler allegedly killed by his mum’s boyfriend during a bout of frustration survived for ‘tens of minutes’ after his fatal injuries were inflicted, a court has been told.
Jaidyn Gomes-Sebastiao, two, was found dead in his bedroom shortly after 4pm on September 2, 2019, after suffering a head injury caused by blunt force trauma.
His mother’s then boyfriend, Brendan Pallant, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the young child and is facing trial in the Victorian Supreme Court.
On Monday, Dr Michael Burke, a forensic pathologist, told the court Jaidyn’s temperature was noted by paramedics at the scene to be 26C – about 10C below a ‘normal’ temperature for the human body.
Jaidyn Gomes-Sebastiao was allegedly murdered in his Langwarrin home on September 2, 2019. Picture: Supplied
He said, for adults, it would have been possible to estimate a time of death using his temperature, but due to Jaidyn’s young age he was unable to do this.
Dr Bourke, who conducted Jaidyn’s autopsy at 3am the following day, said he found evidence of inflammation, a ‘healing response’, on his most recent injuries.
‘The neurological examination showed healing changes within the brain … indicating a period of survival measured in the tens of minutes, not hours or days,’ he said.
Dr Burke later clarified Jaidyn could have survived for an hour after his injuries.
He told the court his examination found widespread bruises across Jaidyn’s face, alongside a large fracture to the back of his skull and a depressed fracture that caused a significant brain injury.
Brendan Pallant has pleaded not guilty to murdering the young child and is facing trial in the Victorian Supreme Court
Taking the jury through almost 30 injuries found during the autopsy, the majority on the child’s head, Dr Burke identified most bruising as being more than 18 hours old.
He said apart from the injuries, Jaidyn was an otherwise healthy child, weighing 11kg and standing at 82cm tall.
Earlier in the trial, Jaidyn’s mother Stacie Saggers, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, gave evidence about noticing large bruises on her son’s face in the days before his death.
She told the court she initially believed they were caused by her son pulling a bookcase down onto himself, but grew suspicious after the second spate of bruises on September 1.
Ms Saggers said she suspected Pallant, who had moved in less than a month earlier, may have punched the toddler because she believed the white cube bookcase ‘could not do that much to a little boy’s face’.
The court was told she left Jaidyn in Pallant’s care when she went to a cleaning job about 12.30pm on September 2, before returning home shortly after 3pm.
The court was told Pallant had moved into Ms Saggers home in August after the pair were introduced by a mutual friend. Picture: Supplied
At 4.06pm she said Pallant went to check on her son, who she believed was taking a nap, when his body was discovered.
Prosecutors allege Pallant struck the child with a lamp table in a ‘short but profound’ bout of frustration.
In his opening address, Pallant’s barrister, Rishi Nathwani, said the jury would have to decide whether his client inflicted the fatal injuries.
He told the jury Mr Pallant may not have been the last person to see the child alive and said Ms Saggers had been ‘inconsistent’ with what she told people about her son’s bruising.
The trial, before Justice Jane Dixon, continues.
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