Gold Coast boy Tyrell Cobb told his uncle he’d been punched in the stomach by his mother’s boyfriend in a conversation shortly before he died, a court has heard.
Heidi Strbak has pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of criminal negligence over her four-year-old son’s death on May 24, 2009.
But the 34-year-old is facing a contested sentencing hearing because prosecutors claim she was responsible for the blunt force trauma that caused the death.
Tyrell Cobb told his uncle, Danial Allan (pictured), he’d been punched in the stomach by his mother’s boyfriend in a conversation shortly before he died, a court heard
Tyrell, 4, was found unconscious at a Gold Coast property and later died in hospital from internal bleeding and stomach injuries caused by blunt force trauma
Her brother Danial Allan testified in the Brisbane Supreme Court that his nephew claimed to him that he’d been punched in the stomach by Strbak’s then-boyfriend Matthew Scown.
Mr Allan said he couldn’t recall if Scown was in the home at the time of his conversation with the little boy, who didn’t say when the alleged blow was dealt.
He later said he thought Scown may have been on the balcony when Mr Allan and his sister left the unit.
But the court heard Mr Allan didn’t mention what the boy had said to him when he was alone with Strbak.
Matthew Scown (pictured), 34, was handed four years jail for the manslaughter of his stepson in October, but his sentence was immediately suspended after having served two years and eight months in custody
When asked by Justice Applegarth why he didn’t think to report the allegation of abuse to the child’s mother, Mr Allan replied: ‘It didn’t enter my mind’.
He also told the judge he didn’t think to take the child with them to avoid leaving him alone in the property with Scown because Tyrell was already asleep.
Mr Allan’s evidence came a day after emotions ran high following the testimony of Tyrell’s biological father, Jason Cobb, which culminated in a glass door into the courtroom being damaged.
Scown was last month sentenced to four years’ jail for manslaughter but walked from court, having already spent two years and eight months in custody.
Strbak’s sentencing is expected to return to court next week.
Heidi Strbak (pictured) pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of criminal negligence and is set to return to court next week
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