Inside synthetic addicts’ home
A former member of a family in Ru¯ a¯ toki has described how the household was affected by synthetic cannabis, with those who had taken the drug being reduced to a catatonic state – while young children were in their care.
Donna Catherine Parangi, 54, is standing trial in the High Court in Hamilton where she faces a single charge of manslaughter.
Her grandson, eight-month-old Isaiah Neil, died from apparent heatstroke after being left in the blue Honda hatchback for about three hours outside her home in Ru¯ a¯ toki, in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, on November 2, 2015.
The Crown case, led by Richard Marchant and Hayley Sheridan, alleges Parangi is partly responsible for his death.
Parangi is being represented by Susan Gray and Julie-Anne Kincade, and the cause of the baby’s death is being disputed.
Two of the key witnesses for the Crown are 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.
Yesterday the court heard evidence from Felicia Riini, who at the time was the girlfriend of Parangi’s son Marcus, who had moved in with the family in Ngahina Rd in Ruatoki in 2012. At the time of Isaiah’s death she was living with her mother in Taneatua.
Lacey Te Whetu and Parangi smoked synthetics every day during that time, she said. So too was Neil, but in a more experimental fashion.
The patriarch of the family, Sidney Te Whetu – known as Santa – also smoked synthetic cannabis, but was not as badly affected.
Riini and her partner often had to take care of Te Whetu and Neil’s children because they had been rendered incapable, she said.
‘‘Myself and Marcus would make ourselves the primary caregivers.’’
She would frequently see Parangi and Te Whetu in particular collapse onto the floor as a result of taking synthetics.
‘‘They were conscious, but could not move.’’
It was a scenario that occurred every night, Riini said.
Lacey was usually ‘‘a lovely mother who always catered to the children’s needs’’. It was a different story with Neil, who was frequently away shearing or visiting family in Hamilton.
‘‘He’s not a father. He would walk straight past [the children]. They would call out to him and he would walk straight past them.’’
Marchant asked: ‘‘If the children were crying or needing assistance, what would he do?’’
‘‘Walk away,’’ Riini replied.
At the time of his death, Isaiah had learned to roll around on the floor, but was not yet capable of pulling himself up on furniture, she said.
Under cross examination by Kincade, Riini revealed she had briefly visited the household that day with her partner, who had left something behind.
She had stayed in the car during that visit, she said.
‘‘I suggest to you, you are wong about that,’’ Kincade said.
‘‘I very clearly remember the second of November,’’ Riini replied.
Constable James Renwick, a police officer based in Whakatane, who was one of the first on scene that night, also gave evidence. He told the court he quickly determined it could be a crime scene.
Because Lacey Te Whetu and others were extremely distraught, it was deemed not appropriate to remove everyone, so he attempted to observe as well as preserve the scene as best he could.
At one point Lacey Te Whetu: said ‘‘F***ing rats***, man. This is my baby. Our bubba’s dead. Our bubba’s sleeping. F***ing mum. F***ing mum. Didn’t do her job, my boy.’’
During cross-examination by Gray, Renwick was referred to a transcript of a subsequent interview with Lacey Te Whetu by a detective at the Whakatane police station, during which she said that she was talking about herself when she referred to ‘‘f***ing mum’’.
The court also heard from St John ambulance officer Linda English who attended the scene that night.
Arriving at the house she was led into the bedroom where she found Parangi and a middle-aged man attempting to revive Isaiah, who was naked on the floor.
English took over administering chest compressions. The boy’s body was still warm, indicating he had died only recently.
Lacey Te Whetu had told her that the baby had been suffering from the flu, which she had been treating with Pamol.
She and a colleague, an advanced paramedic, took the baby out to an ambulance where they continued their attempts to resuscitate Isaiah, without success.
After working on Isaiah for about 26 minutes, he was declared dead at 7.21pm.
At one point Lacey Te Whetu, who was in the ambulance, took alarm at bruising on her son’s abdomen, and thought it was his internal organs.
The purple discolouration appeared fresh, ‘‘almost like haemorrhaging under the skin’’.
She had spoken to Neil, who was standing outside the ambulance, twice – first to tell him the situation was not looking good, and the second time to tell him his son had died.
He remained impassive, standing and staring and not making eye contact.
He was ushered into the ambulance, where he sat and stared at the opposite wall, making no attempt to touch the baby or console his partner.