\u201cWhen asked about the pregnancy, Smith stated that she had miscarried and as a result the stillborn baby and placenta had been flushed down the toilet,\u201d the agreed summary of facts for her case states. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe further stated she had provided the stillborn baby to a doctor for cremation purposes however did not have any details of the doctor or cremation services provider.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chanelle Smith appears for sentencing in Auckland District Court after pleading guilty to interfering with the remains of her newborn baby. Photo \/ NZ Herald<\/p>\n
Police were suspicious of the contrary explanations, suspecting she had concealed the baby. They returned to her home the following day with a search warrant. <\/p>\n
The corpse was discovered in a rubbish bin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what she\u2019s talking about,\u201d she said when police asked details about the newborn\u2019s condition, declining further comment. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe defendant has a significant and recent mental health history and this is believed to have played a role in the alleged offending,\u201d the summary of facts concludes. <\/p>\n
Authorities treated the case initially as a homicide<\/a> investigation, but a preliminary autopsy<\/a> was not able to determine a cause of death for the baby, or if the child was born alive. <\/p>\n Smith spent four and a half months in custody, with at least part of that time at the Mason Clinic, a lockdown psychiatric facility. She has spent the past eight months on electronically monitored bail, which she has had no problems complying with, her lawyer said.<\/p>\n The court ordered a psychiatric report<\/a> in October to evaluate if Smith had a potential defence of insanity. She pleaded guilty shortly after the report, which opined she didn\u2019t fit the legal definition of insanity, was completed. <\/p>\n Smith faced up to two years\u2019 imprisonment for the interfering with human remains charge. Police prosecutor Yara Alrubayee asked the judge for a two-year starting point and an end sentence of imprisonment.<\/p>\n \u201cThis offending is the worst of its kind due to the particular cruelty,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is a need to denounce … and send a message this is not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n Defence lawyer Joon Yi argued that the punitive element had already been served by the time Smith spent in custody or under restrictive bail conditions. He acknowledged that the case is on \u201cthe higher end\u201d of the scale for such crimes but said a 21-month starting point would be more appropriate so that the maximum starting point could be reserved for worst cases in the future. <\/p>\n With a reduction to recognise Smith\u2019s mental health issues, the sentence could be reduced to 12 months and converted to home detention or a lengthening of the intensive supervision sentence she was already serving for an unrelated crime. <\/p>\n Smith is doing well under supervision, receiving weekly medication injections and is showing improvement, Yi told the judge. <\/p>\n In his sentencing remarks, Judge Dawson noted that Smith had four prior convictions for violence and 30 other convictions that included dishonesty and drugs. She was assessed as having a moderate risk of reoffending and a high risk of causing harm to others. <\/p>\n \u201cThe principal sentencing factors here are denunciation and deterrence,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is behaviour that is not acceptable to the community at any time. A sentence needs to make it clear there are consequences for your actions.\u201d<\/p>\n But he also noted Smith\u2019s mental health issues and low cognitive functioning.<\/p>\n Judge Dawson ordered a 20-month starting point and allowed a 20% reduction for her guilty plea, resulting in a preliminary sentence of 13 months. He allowed it to be converted to four months\u2019 home detention, followed by six months of post-detention conditions \u201cto ensure you continue to get the help and assistance you require\u201d. <\/p>\n Smith, who wore bright red Converse high tops and a beige trench coat as she stood in the dock, wiped away a tear at one point as the judge explained his sentence. <\/p>\n Her lawyer had started the hearing petitioning the judge to bar the media from receiving the agreed summary of facts. The fallout of the public knowing the most confronting details would be such that his client would never fully be able to rehabilitate, he argued. <\/p>\n The judge rejected the argument, noting no psychological evidence of extreme hardship had been submitted to the court. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very hard position to maintain when the presumption is the public has a right to know,\u201d the judge said. <\/p>\n However, the judge did suppress some details from the summary for another reason: fairness to the defendant. The passages involved unproven allegations, he said. <\/p>\nPolice investigate the scene in July 2025 where a dead newborn was found in a wheelie bin. Photo \/ Carson Bluck<\/p>\n
Flowers were at the scene after a newborn baby was found inside a wheelie bin on July 1, 2025. Chanelle Smith has since pleaded guilty to interfering with human remains. Photo \/ Dean Purcell<\/p>\n
Police found a newborn’s remains after executing a search warrant at a Freemans Bay home. Photo \/ Carson Bluck<\/p>\n
Police cordon off the scene in July 2025 after a deceased newborn baby was discovered in a wheelie bin on Renall St, Freemans Bay.<\/p>\n