Gracie-May McSorley

It was the evening of July 7 last year when Clare Marler went into her granddaughter's Wellington Hospital room and bent over to say goodbye. She had been told Gracie-May McSorley was going to die from traumatic head injuries, and would be taken off life support. The 6-month-old's eyes flickered open, and she seemed to smile. The involuntary movements still haunt Marler. She simply couldn't stay to watch the little girl die. Michael Te Kouarehu Kereopa, who had faced a murder charge for killing Gracie-May, pleaded guilty to manslaughter instead. Kereopa was arrested on the night Gracie-May died, and was eventually charged with murder. He initially gave explanations for the injuries that included accidentally dropping her on to a hearth, and shaking her when she would not stop crying. He had been left with her for only about 45 minutes while her mother was out. She had fed Gracie-May but she was grizzly as she was put in her cot for an afternoon sleep. McSorley told Kereopa to look after her, but not give in to her and not pick her up. The Crown summary of facts said he lost his temper with Gracie-May and lashed out, causing a severe head injury when he struck the right side of her head. Experts said the brain damage that resulted was the kind of injury caused in high-speed vehicle crashes. Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/faces-of-innocents/81166707/guilty...

A Kapiti man who killed a six-month-old baby has been jailed for at least eight years. Michael Kereopa, 32, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after striking Gracie May McSorley with a fatal backhand blow in Raumati, north of Wellington last year. The baby was airlifted to Wellington Hospital and put on life support, but died from her injuries shortly afterwards. Kereopa was in a relationship with Gracie's mother at the time. He was sentenced at the High Court in Wellington today to eight years in prison with no minimum non parole period. Experts said the brain damage Gracie suffered was similar to the impact of a high speed car crash. Kereopa was originally charged with murder, but only pleaded guilty when the charge was downgraded to manslaughter. Source: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/shouldve-been-life-not-...

An aunt of baby Gracie-May McSorley, who was killed by Michael Kereopa, has spoken of the "devastating" loss her family has suffered. Kereopa was sentenced in the High Court at Wellington on Thursday to eight years jail for the manslaughter of the six-month-old at her Raumati Beach home, north of Wellington, in July 2015. The judge said Kereopa, who had earlier pleaded guilty, had a 'cataclysmic loss of control'. Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/82326249/eight-years-jail-fo...