A couple have appeared in the High Court at Rotorua to plead guilty to the manslaughter of their baby son, who was left asleep in a car on a hot day.
Eight-month-old Isaiah Neil died at his grandparents' house in the Bay of Plenty town of Ruatoki in November 2015.
His father, 30-year-old Shane Christopher Neil, found him after he'd been in the car for several hours, but he didn't call emergency services, NZME reports.
Neil, with his partner Lacey-Marie Te Whetu, 27, admitted failing to provide the necessities of life.
Justice Sally Fitzgerald issued both a first strike and granted bail ahead of their sentencing in May.
Defence lawyer Bill Lawson is seeking a sentence of home detention for Te Whetu, who he said had "beaten her addiction" and passed drug tests, NZME says.
Neil's lawyer Roger Laybourn is also seeking home detention for Neil as he is the "lesser offender" - having not known his son was in the car.
It comes after a high-profile case in 2015, when a Whanganui health professional was granted permanent name suppression and discharged without conviction when she pleaded guilty to the death of her 16-month-old son who was left in a hot car.
In the year to January 2017, a total of 800 children were reported locked in a vehicle, AA figures revealed.
During a typical summer day, the temperature inside a car can reach up to 60degC - even with windows down - and it's enough to cause brain damage or kill a child or pet.
Newshub.
