Uncle did not know baby was in car

The uncle of a baby that died, allegedly after being left inside a hot car for hours, visited the property in Ru¯ a¯ toki at the time his nephew was still inside the vehicle.

But Marcus Te Whetu was unaware that metres away 8-month-old Isaiah Neil was living out his last hours.

Te Whetu’s mother, who is the baby’s grandmother, Donna Catherine Parangi, 54, is on trial at the High Court in Hamilton on a charge of manslaughter. She has pleaded not guilty.

Isaiah died from apparent heatstroke after being left in a hatchback for about three hours outside Parangi’s home in Ru¯a¯toki, in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, on November 2, 2015.

The Crown alleges Parangi is partly responsible for his death. However her defence team of Susan Gray and Julie-Anne Kincade dispute the baby’s cause of death.

Two key witnesses for the Crown were Isaiah’s parents, Shane Neil and Lacey Te Whetu, who is Parangi’s daughter.

The pair, who were living with Parangi at the time, have previously pleaded guilty to their son’s manslaughter – a fact the jury have been made aware of.

Parangi and Te Whetu were addicted to synthetic cannabis and all three had allegedly been smoking it that day and were allegedly in a state of extreme drowsiness as a result.

On the trial’s third day yesterday, Lacey’s brother Marcus also gave evidence. He visited his parents’ home in Ru¯a¯toki that morning. He said he had seen Isaiah on a bed in the lounge. The infant had a snotty nose and needed his nappy changed.

Marcus left but later returned to wash his car.

He told the court he recalled seeing his father’s car parked out the back of the house. He believed the windows and doors were all closed. He did not know that at that moment his nephew was likely sweltering inside the vehicle. As well as giving his car a clean, Marcus said he was concerned for his nephew and wanted to check on him.

He poked his head in a window and asked if anyone was home. Receiving no reply, he set about cleaning his vehicle.

At one point a kohanga reo van drove up to the house and someone – now understood to be Neil – emerged from inside to collect the children.

Marcus Te Whetu left. Later that evening at work he got a message from his boss telling him there was an emergency situation at his parents’ house.

The trial continues.