Accused says he told lies for partner
Murder accused Troy Taylor says he blames himself ‘‘every day’’ over Ihaka Stokes’ death, but his conscience took hold too late to save the toddler‘s life.
Giving evidence in his own defence in the High Court at Christchurch against charges he assaulted and murdered 14-monthold Ihaka in July 2015, Taylor said he lied to police the night the boy died to protect his partner Mikala Stokes, Ihaka’s mother.
Through tears, Taylor said, ‘‘I would have gone to prison for Mikala if she told me she’d done this.
‘‘I would have gone to protect her. I’m not making this about her any more, this is not about me, this about Ihaka and he deserves the truth. This is why I’m up on the stand today. To tell the full truth for my son. It’s the last thing I can do for him. I’m not going to fail him again.’’
Ihaka was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries on the night of July 3. He died soon after. Taylor’s defence centres on Stokes harming Ihaka while he was not home that afternoon.
Taylor initially told police he heard two ‘‘bangs’’ from Ihaka’s room that night. Assuming the child had hit his head falling in his cot, he checked and found him unresponsive.
He now says Ihaka appeared unwell after he arrived home on the evening of July 3. He checked on the toddler before he went to bed about 8.30pm.
‘‘It was really odd that he didn’t even acknowledge me,’’ Taylor told Justice Mander.
He said he soon returned and got into the cot with Ihaka because he was worried.
‘‘He didn’t react when I put my arm underneath him. I thought that was strange.’’
Taylor said he moved the boy onto his chest. The toddler was ‘‘a bit floppy’’ and had raspy breathing. As he lay there, Taylor said it crossed his mind Stokes may have ‘‘done something’’ to Ihaka.
Defence counsel Phil Shamy asked Taylor why he did not query Stokes about it when he returned to bed a second time.
‘‘I wanted to, but I didn’t want to know the truth,’’ Taylor said.
‘‘I didn’t want to know, so didn’t ask.
‘‘I was worried about Ihaka and I I lay in bed wondering what I should do. I didn’t want to get Mikala into trouble. I really didn’t know what to do. If I did take him to the doctor, what am I going to say?
‘‘I really wish I did [do more]. I blame myself every day. Maybe if I did something then he would still be here. I failed him. He needed me to step up for him then and I didn’t.’’
Taylor said he found Ihaka unresponsive about 90 minutes later.
‘‘Finally my conscience kicked in and I knew I had to get up and do something, but it was too late. I went back into his room to check on him and he was lying face down in the cot.’’
Taylor told the court he lied about hearing two ‘‘bangs’’ from Ihaka’s room that night because something similar had happened the night before, resulting in bruises to Ihaka’s forehead and jaw. He wanted to protect Mikala.
‘‘It was the most logical excuse to me at the time.
‘‘I was not going to put Mikala in it. I knew I had to make Ihaka out to be fine to take it away from her.’’
Taylor said he never thought he would be considered a suspect in the boy‘s death.
‘‘That’s why I was so willing to go with them [the police]. Because I knew that it wasn’t me. And then when they gave me my caution that’s when I was like, ‘ Holy f…, they think it’s me’.’’
Earlier yesterday, Taylor revealed he accidentally dropped Ihaka the night before the toddler was killed.
He told police he heard ‘‘two bangs’’ from Ihaka’s room and found the toddler dazed and bleeding from his mouth.
Taylor said he dropped the boy while he was attending to him.
‘‘I stood up too quick and I got dizzy and then I dropped him.
‘‘As I was standing up I stumbled and that’s really all I remember and then Ihaka was on the ground … I picked him up and put him in my lap.
‘‘He didn’t cry, he didn’t make any noises at this point, but he was very dazed.’’
The next morning he did not tell Stokes or a doctor who examined Ihaka that he had dropped the boy.
‘‘I was scared to tell her (Stokes) because I didn’t know how she’d react.’’