The Crown has opened its case against a stepdad accused of murdering his new girlfriend's baby daughter, when he was left home alone with her for 15 minutes.
Aaron Archer, 31, has pleaded not guilty to killing two-year-old Ariah Roberts last year in Mangawhai Heads.
The Crown says Archer was the only one home when Ariah received multiple blows to the head.
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Crown Prosecutor Olivia Klaasen told the High Court in Auckland on Tuesday that Ariah's mother went to the supermarket, and within 15 minutes the toddler had stopped breathing.
Klaasen said Archer told Ariah's mother that he was swinging the two-year-old around when she hit her head. He later said she was throwing Ariah into the air, and she slipped.
"Someone is lying," Klaasen said. "And it probably isn't the scientists.
"When you look at the pathology, Mr Archer's multiple explanations cannot stack up."
Defence lawyer Annabel Maxwell-Scott said Archer denies any intention to hurt the child.
"Mr Archer did not intend to kill Ariah," Maxwell-Scott said. "Recklessly or otherwise.
"[He] did not assault her, not intend to assault her, and this is an extremely sad, tragic accident."
The trial will hear from 29 Crown witnesses over three weeks.
Newshub.
