Aquitted after plea offer rejected
three-year-old Moko, who was killed in August last year, drew public condemnation.
Lowe said he had put Jayden’s case into a ‘‘compartment’’ but the recent coverage of Moko’s killing had brought it back up. ‘‘Not everything is black and white in these decisions . . . you have a decision in Auckland that goes one way and a case in Nelson 16 years ago that goes the other way.’’ Lowe did not think the general public realised how difficult it was to find real answers when two or three people were in a room when someone dies.
‘‘You can’t just throw a blanket over it and say ‘you’re all charged’.’’ WHO KILLED JAYDEN? On the evening of June 6, a party was held at Jayden’s home. Leanne Perrin told a court that at one stage after visitors had left, she woke to hear her son whimpering. She found him in the lounge with Vercoe bending over him changing his nappy.
She said she took Jayden back to her bed and noticed a small bruise beside his right eye. Perrin said she awoke again to her son’s whimpering, and noticed more injuries to his face and head.
‘‘I was screaming, ‘Who bashed my baby?’.
‘‘He (Vercoe) said, ’I don’t know, I don’t know’.’’
In the days after Jayden’s attack, Vercoe was interviewed by police on video. Vercoe told them that on the night of the party he took Jayden, who was screaming, into the lounge to change his nappy. He said the boy kept trying get away from him and that he slapped Jayden twice fairly hard to the head.
Later, Vercoe said they could have been blows or might have been punches. He said he then put Jayden back to bed.
Vercoe was charged with murder but he claimed he made a false confession to protect Perrin, whom he thought was going to be charged. He said he did not hit Jayden.
Hampton suggested that a confession was forced from his client. He said a detective threatened Vercoe during an interview with another detective.
‘‘F . . . you Aaron,’’ the detective allegedly said. ‘‘If it wasn’t you, we’re going to charge her.’’
The detective denied saying this but agreed that he did hear Vercoe say, as he was leaving the room with Perrin: ‘‘Okay I did it, I did it.’’
Defence witness Phil Brinded, a Christchurch-based forensic psychiatrist, told the court in his opinion Vercoe would be vulnerable to giving unreliable testimony in that type of police interview situation.
In his closing summary, Hampton said Vercoe’s false confession fell into the category of ‘‘coerced complaint’’ when a person felt they were under intense pressure in an interview.
To stop the pressure, they made an admission of guilt, even though they knew they were not responsible.
He said it was possible the injuries were caused by other people in the house, or someone who might have entered the house from outside.
Vercoe was acquitted of murdering Jayden, after the twoweek trial on February 27, 1999.
Jayden’s mother Leanne said she had never forgotten about her son.
‘‘I haven’t gotten past it. I haven’t moved on . . . It shouldn’t happen to anyone’s kids … I see stories all the time of people’s kids being murdered. It’s sick.