Baby killer’s name revealed

Sandra Conchie

and

Jared Savage

The identity of a Tauranga man who killed a 14-week-old baby boy can now be revealed.

Name suppression has been lifted from Surender Singh Mehrok, 21, who was convicted of murdering Richard Royal Uddin, whose skull had been “cracked like an egg” after an assault in June 2016.

Richard suffered multiple skull fractures and the forensic evidence was consistent with his head hitting a carpeted floor with significant force, similar to a high-speed car crash.

Mehrok, who was 19 at the time, admitted causing the fatal injuries but denied he meant to kill the baby.

But he was found guilty of murder after a trial in the High Court at Tauranga last July and will serve at least 14 years and 6 months of a mandatory life sentence.

In sentencing Mehrok last August, Justice Mary Peters accepted Mehrok had not meant to kill Richard but must have known assaulting a 14-week-old baby was likely to cause his death.

Mehrok was in a casual relationship with Richard’s mother Nikita Winiata and was babysitting on the night he inflicted the fatal injuries.

She was left “heartbroken” by her son’s death, according to her victim impact statement read to the court.

Mehrok has appealed the murder conviction — arguing it was manslaughter — but no date has been set for a Court of Appeal hearing. He had no previous convictions.

Medical evidence presented to the jury, including X-rays and 3D modelling, showed Richard suffered multiple fractures to the back of his scalp and both sides of his skull, as well as several brain lacerations.

Crown Solicitor Anna Pollett told the court his skull had been “cracked like an egg”.