Babysitter jailed for 5 years for manslaughter of toddler

CHRISTCHURCH: A babysitter will miss out on seeing her own child’s life for the next five years, as she spends that time in prison for the manslaughter of a Christchurch toddler who died of fatal injuries while in her care.

Shayal Upashna Sami (21) was babysitting Aaliyah Ashlyn Chand when the toddler received fatal head injuries, including two skull fractures and bruising to her face, on January 6, 2015.

After a twoweek trial in the High Court at Christchurch in November, a jury found Sami guilty of the manslaughter of the 1yearold.

Sami cried in the dock throughout her sentencing yesterday.

During the trial, the defence said Sami put Aaliyah down on the couch to sleep and was in the kitchen cooking dinner when the toddler woke up and fell off the couch in a ‘‘tragic fall’’.

But the Crown prosecution argued that Sami ‘‘slammed [Aaliyah’s] head on a hard surface in a moment of rage, which lead to her death’’.

The Crown said that Sami was new to the country, new to an arranged marriage, 18 and pregnant, and alone in a tiny flat for hours with a baby.

‘‘Whatever happened was born out of frustration and stress,’’ Crown lawyer Deirdre Elsmore said during the trial.

During the sentencing, Aaliyah’s parents, Dev Chand and Anjani Lata, said their daughter didn’t just leave them, she was taken from them.

‘‘It was a parent’s worst nightmare . . . [Sami’s] actions has put us through unbearable pain and you’ve left us living a life sentence,’’ Ms Lata said.

Sami, who is a FijianIndian, will be deported back to Fiji after serving her time in prison. — NZN