2 NZ men convicted of murdering, abusing toddler

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-18 15:36

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Two New Zealand men were convicted Tuesday of murdering a 3-year-old girl after several months of abuse that included spinning her in a hot clothes dryer and beating her using wrestling moves copied from a computer game.

The case exposed a circle of family neglect that included the girl's mother, who was found guilty of manslaughter because she failed to protect her child.

Justice Judith Potter wept in court Tuesday as she thanked jury members for their efforts after the verdicts were read out. Jurors also were clearly shaken by the case.

Nia Glassie died of brain injuries in a hospital on Aug. 3 last year, two weeks after suffering what prosecutors said were fatal kicks to the head inflicted by two brothers, Wiremu Curtis, 19, and Michael Curtis, 22.

Nia's mother, Lisa Kuka, 35, was Wiremu Curtis' partner, and they shared a house with Michael and other adults, the court was told.

The brothers were each found guilty of murder and child cruelty in Rotorua High Court. They face life sentences _ of which most inmates serve 10 years in New Zealand, though that can be extended. Kuka also faces 10 years in prison for manslaughter.

The toddler's cousin, Michael Pearson, 20, and Michael Curtis' partner, Oriwa Kemp, 18, were found guilty of child cruelty, but were not convicted on the manslaughter charges they faced. Pearson and Kemp also lived in the house with the toddler.

All those convicted were ordered to be held in custody until sentencing at a date not yet fixed.

During the four-week trial the jury heard the child suffered abuse that the prosecution said amounted to torture: She was slapped, punched and kicked; flung against a wall; and held high in the air and then dropped onto the floor. The child was placed in a clothes dryer and spun at high heat, whirled rapidly on a rotary clothesline until flung off, and was subjected to wrestling moves copied from a computer game. At one point, she was left lying unconscious for 36 hours without medical attention.

Prosecutor Fletcher Pilditch said investigators could find no obvious motive for the abuse other than bullying.

"She was bullied in the worst kind of way. She was singled out, for what reason we do not know," he said.

New Zealand's Children's Commissioner, Dr. Cindy Kiro said the case was all the more shocking because other adults knew the abuse was going on and did nothing about it.

"Both family members and neighbors were aware of the neglect and abuse Nia was subject to," she said in a statement. "That they didn't speak out in time is something they will have to live with."