Iris Kathleen Davidson-Small

At the High Court in Dunedin today, the mother of a 23 month old baby was told it was unforgivable to allow her vulnerable daughter to go without medical care while she was suffering from several broken bones, and a serious head injury. Justice Chisholm made the statements as he sentenced her and two others, for their roles in events that ultimately led to the death of Iris Davidson in October 2002. 28 year old Brooke Lee Small, Iris's mother, and 42 year old Warihi Tauhore Wharehinga were both sentenced to 18 months jail. A third person, 22 year old Rebecca Jane Lunt received 12 months supervision and community service for her lesser role in events. I/V Reporter Nathan Mills. Source: https://ngataonga.org.nz/collections/catalogue/catalogue-item?recor...

23-month-old Iris Davidson died as a result of non-accidental injuries in 2002. Her mother was charged with manslaughter, wilful ill-treatment and wilful neglect, and her two flatmates were also charged in relation to Iris's death. The jury found no-one guilty of Iris's manslaughter, but found the mother and one of the flatmates guilty of wilful neglect. In the weeks leading up to her death the toddler suffered a fractured leg, two broken wrists, multiple bruising and head injuries which ultimately caused her death. Source: 4theKids.

23-month-old Iris Davidson died as a result of non-accidental injuries in 2002. Her mother was charged with manslaughter, wilful ill-treatment and wilful neglect, and her two flatmates were also charged in relation to Iris's death. The jury found no one guilty of Iris's manslaughter, but found the mother and one of her flatmates guilty of wilful neglect. The coroner, Jim Conradson, said during the inquest that Iris's injuries were caused by at least one of the three defendants. A lack of information made more specific findings impossible. This is a police van outside Iris's house near Dunedin. Source: https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/30540/iris-davidson

Iris died from non-accidental injuries in Dunedin Hospital on October 19, 2002. A coroner's report referred to medical evidence indicating the toddler died after shaking or direct impact sufficient to cause a brain injury leading to death. Iris was living at a property in Hayward Point Rd, Port Chalmers with her mother, Brooke Small and her flatmates; Wairihi Tauhore Wharehinga and Rebecca Lunt. All three faced criminal charges during a six-week trial held at the Dunedin High Court in November 2003. Small was acquitted of two charges of manslaughter and a charge of wilful illtreatment. She was convicted on a charge of wilful neglect. Wharehinga pleaded guilty on the fifth week of the trial to endangering a child's life by failing to provide medical care. Charges of wilful neglect and wilful illtreatment were dropped. Lunt was found guilty of wilful neglect. In his findings, coroner Jim Conradson said: "Here is a case of a 23-month-old baby girl who died as a result of fatal injuries and the evidence of the three adult persons living in the house does not even address how, when, where or by whom that happened." The conclusion of the coroner was that one or more of the trio had lied about the evidence they gave. It was noted Iris also had injuries within the six weeks before her death, including a broken leg, two broken wrists, and 28 bruises on her body. None of the adults had any knowledge of those injuries. The coroner found it was not possible to make any specified finding as to who inflicted the injuries that led to Iris' death. Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/faces-of-innocents/81596796/faces-...