The maternal grandmother of Ariah Roberts has told the High Court at Auckland her granddaughter's head was covered in bruises, the Friday prior to her death.
The two-year-old died at her home in Mangawhai last year, allegedly killed by her mother's boyfriend, Aaron Archer.
Ariah Roberts' maternal grandmother told the High Court at Auckland on Friday the toddler had a habit of butting her head against the cot, and she had spoken to her daughter about taking Ariah to see a specialist about her bruises, just days before her death.
The two-year-old died from a blunt force head injury, while left home alone with her mother's boyfriend for 15 minutes.
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On the night of the toddler's death, Archer told Ariah's grandmother he had been swinging her around playfully when he lost grip and she hit her head on the wall.
Pathologists recorded at least 20 bruises on her head.
Her grandmother on Friday told the court that Ariah's head was already covered in bruises on the Friday prior to the fatal incident.
"Ariah had a lot of bruises on her and that particular night I noticed she had quite a few on her head."
Crown Prosecutor Brian Dickey asked the grandmother why she withheld the information from her original police statement.
Ariah's grandmother told the court Archer was distraught, crying and vomiting when she arrived at the scene in August last year.
Newshub.
