Jury deliberates

The jury overseeing the trial of Rotorua woman Melody Ngawhika, 28, retired to deliberate early yesterday afternoon. The woman is accused of murdering her 6-monthold son Elijah Ngawhika on August 29 last year by suffocating him. The Crown says Ngawhika is responsible for the child’s murder, while her lawyer, Fraser Wood, told the jury his client is instead guilty of infanticide - a less serious charge carrying a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment.