Mum tells of ‘escape’

Accused child killer scared and assaulted partner, court told

MURDER accused Scott Hammond was allegedly “controlling” and abusive towards the mother of his deceased child, court documents reveal.

Yesterday, the 27-year-old faced the third day of a committal hearing into the death of his son, Braxton, who died after suffering severe brain injuries in 2011.

Mr Hammond is alleged to have killed Braxton by shaking him and is charged with murder and child homicide.

Court documents obtained by the Geelong Advertiser reveal Braxton’s mother, Nakita Cook, told a Department of Human Services employee she had tried to escape her relationship with him only four weeks before Braxton’s death.

Former DHS principal practitioner Robyn Miller was at the Royal Children’s Hospital in the days before the infant died and said she had become concerned for Ms Cook.

Ms Miller said while they were in Braxton’s hospital room, she tried to check on Ms Cook without gaining the attention of Mr Hammond.

“I silently mouthed the question: ‘Has he hurt.’ Ms Cook replied, ‘Yes. I tried to get away four weeks ago. I tried to escape . . . and I took the boys’.”

She said she asked Ms Cook: “Are you scared now. Ms Cook nodded, her eyes filled with tears and she whispered, ‘yes’.”

She wrote Ms Cook said Mr Hammond had a gun, had threatened her and when asked if she believed he had hurt their son, “Ms Cook looked distressed and confused, and then slowly nodded”.

Two days before Braxton’s life support was ended, Ms Miller said the mother had told her Mr Hammond would sometimes say the baby was giving him an “evil” look and was looking at him “weird”.

In Ms Cook’s statement to police, she said Mr Hammond “quite often pushed” her during her pregnancy.

“He would push me into doors or on to the bed, or he would slam doors in my face,” she said.

She said in one incident — while she was experiencing labour pains — he “threw a removable CD player at me and accused me of faking labour pains”.

“Within that week I gave birth to the twins,” she said.

In a statement written by forensic pathologist Yeliena Baber, it was concluded the “infant has been assaulted and the head injuries sustained have caused his death”.

“A further significant finding is that of bilateral retinal haemorrhages, right femoral fracture and right rib fractures,” Dr Baber wrote.

“The exact mechanism of the head injury cannot be determined with certainty, but is due to inflicted trauma.”

The hearing adjourned with the last day of the committal be heard on October 16.