The coronial process was on hold while criminal proceedings were underway, but has now commenced in the Tauranga District Court.<\/p>\n
Coroner Tracey Fitzgibbon opened the inquest with a karakia before outlining its scope.<\/p>\n
The inquest will attempt to answer how Sadie-Leigh sustained the fatal injury, whether it was accidental or non-accidental, and when it happened. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe inquiry is a genuine search for the truth as to what occurred prior to Sadie Lee\u2019s death,\u201d Coroner Fitzgibbon said.<\/p>\n
The coroner said she was not there to \u201cdetermine civil, criminal, or disciplinary liability\u201d.<\/p>\n
While the standard of proof in criminal trials is beyond a reasonable doubt, in the Coroner\u2019s Court it is on the balance of probabilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019ll be doing during this hearing is listening to evidence from witnesses which is relevant to Sadie Lee\u2019s death,\u201d Coroner Fitzgibbon said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI also have written documents such as reports and statements to assist me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before evidence began, Sadie-Leigh\u2019s mother, who has interim name suppression, read a statement about her daughter.<\/p>\n
In it, she shared how loved her daughter was.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew her little ways, her expressions, the things she loved, and the things that made her happy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew when she wanted a cuddle, and when she was being cheeky.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose ordinary little moments are some of the most precious memories I have of her because they are things that made her Sadie-Leigh.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those are the things she hopes her daughter was remembered by, not just \u201cwhat happened to her\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sadie-Leigh was just 17-months-old when she died. <\/p>\n
Sadie-Leigh\u2019s mother is represented by lawyer Ben Smith.<\/p>\n
Clancy is represented by Rob Stevens, who acted for him in the second jury trial.<\/p>\n
Clancy and Sadie-Leigh\u2019s mother will give evidence later in the week.<\/p>\n
After Sadie-Leigh\u2019s mother\u2019s statement, Dr Kilak Kesha \u2013 who conducted the autopsy \u2013 was the first witness.<\/p>\n
The toddler had brain haematomas and swelling, with Kesha concluding she\u2019d died from a non-accidental head injury.<\/p>\n
There were several areas of bleeding, including behind the eyes, and a linear skull fracture. <\/p>\n
During questioning by Stevens, Kesha agreed there appeared to have been \u201cone major blow to the head\u201d that caused the catastrophic brain injury.<\/p>\n
This led to bleeding and swelling that caused the brain to shut down.<\/p>\n
Stevens asked him if the injury could have been caused by the toddler striking her head on the side of the cot, as she was put to bed forcefully.<\/p>\n
Kesha agreed that was a possibility, though couldn\u2019t be specific about what level of force would have been needed to cause the injury.<\/p>\n
However, the injury was not consistent with normal child play, and would have needed \u201csignificant\u201d force.<\/p>\n
Kesha could also not be specific about the timing of the injury, but said the child would likely have had \u201cneurological deficit\u201d \u2013 indicated by things such as vomiting, seizures, or passing out \u2013 within \u201cminutes\u201d of the injury.<\/p>\n
Coroner Tracey Fitzgibbon.<\/p>\n
The inquest then heard from Detective Inspector Lindsay Pilbrow, who led the police investigation.<\/p>\n
He stepped the coroner through an investigation overview, outlining timelines and events described by Clancy and Sadie-Leigh\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t appear to be in dispute that on the day Sadie-Leigh suffered the fatal head injury \u2013 March 27, 2019 \u2013 she\u2019d spent the morning with her maternal grandmother, who will also give evidence.<\/p>\n
Sadie-Leigh had a cold, and was grizzly and unsettled.<\/p>\n
Her mother collected her in the middle of the day, stopped at Burger King to get lunch, and headed home.<\/p>\n
A neighbour visited, and Sadie-Leigh was behaving normally \u2013 active and mobile.<\/p>\n
Clancy was on his phone, placing bets on tennis matches, and Sadie-Leigh\u2019s mum was preparing for a beauty appointment at Mount Maunganui.<\/p>\n
Clancy put Sadie-Leigh to bed. However, she was soon coughing and upset again. Her mother attempted to give her Irish Cough medicine, which Sadie-Leigh spat out.<\/p>\n
She was put back in bed, but started coughing and was unsettled again, and Sadie-Leigh\u2019s mother said Clancy resettled her.<\/p>\n
Before she left at 3.31pm, she checked on her daughter, who was sleeping and breathing normally.<\/p>\n
Clancy said at some point after Sadie-Leigh\u2019s mum left for the appointment, he heard Sadie-Leigh coughing, and about five minutes later, found her struggling to breathe.<\/p>\n
Emergency services were called at 3.49pm by a neighbour, and when paramedics arrived, they quickly realised she was in a dire way.<\/p>\n
She was taken to Tauranga Hospital, and later transferred to Starship Children\u2019s Hospital, where her injuries were found to be inoperable and non-survivable.<\/p>\n
The police concluded Clancy inflicted a fatal blow, as he\u2019d been left alone with the child.<\/p>\n
The order of events, who went into the room and when, is the major point of contention.<\/p>\n
Stevens suggested Sadie-Leigh\u2019s mother inflicted the injury in frustration before leaving for her appointment.<\/p>\n
The police position is any assault would have been heard by Clancy, however.<\/p>\n
Stevens told the pathologist the key competing timeframes were between 3pm and 3.30pm, or between 3.31pm and 3.49pm.<\/p>\n
It is agreed that the medical evidence cannot, on its own, determine the specific timing of the injury.<\/p>\n
Stevens cross-examined Pilbrow about why Sadie-Leigh\u2019s mother was discounted as a suspect, given neighbours told police they had observed her swearing and calling her daughter a \u201clittle freak\u201d, describing how she would \u201close her rag\u201d.<\/p>\n
There was also a suggestion the mother had confided in her neighbour about hitting Sadie-Leigh \u201cover the head\u201d before. <\/p>\n
Pilbrow said there was no evidence neighbours observed anything like that on the day in question, or that the mother was having difficulty coping that day.<\/p>\n
During questions from counsel for the police, Richard Jenson, Pilbrow confirmed their charging decision had been informed by what medical experts said about how Sadie-Leigh would have presented after the injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese injuries were catastrophic, in their terms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
She would likely have been unconscious and blind \u201calmost immediately\u201d and, for anybody caring for her at that time, \u201cit would have become very apparent that she was a very sick and unwell young lady\u201d. <\/p>\n
The inquest is expected to run until the end of the week.<\/p>\n
Hannah Bartlett is a Tauranga-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She previously covered court and local government for the Nelson Mail, and before that was a radio reporter at Newstalk ZB.<\/p>\n