Jeanette Mulipola Rikihana

1994 Jeanette Rikihana, 5 months old, murdered by her father Soulan James Pownceby, an Olympic boxer. Her injuries included severe bruising to the head, including a cracked skull, and internal bruising. Pownceby was charged with murder, however the jury at his murder trial ruled that he was not guilty of murder but was guilty of manslaughter. Powceby was sentenced to four years in jail. Source: https://childabuseinnz.wordpress.com/my-memorial/

Jeanette Rikihana died after she suffered severe head injuries while in the care of her father, Soulan Pownceby. Malnourished, living out of a pushchair with her unprepared and ill-equipped parents, Jeanette Rikihana lived a short and tragic life. The five-month-old was killed by her 19-year-old father, Soulan Pownceby, on the evening of October 19, 1994. Jeanette's mother, Losalia Mulipola, went for a walk to get her family takeaways for dinner and by the time she had returned, her daughter had a cracked skull and severe head injuries. Pownceby, who went on to represent New Zealand in boxing at the Olympics a decade later, said he accidentally dropped Jeanette while in the shower. He was convicted of manslaughter the following year and jailed for four years. Only hours before Jeanette was rushed to hospital, she was seen by a Christchurch GP for scabies – a condition her parents also had. Court transcripts show Dr Ian Currie was concerned about her low weight. She had wasting buttocks and thighs and weighed barely more than her 3 kilogram birth weight. Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/81442536/faces-of-innocents-...

On 19 October 1994, Pownceby killed his five-month-old daughter Jeanette Rikihana. Despite claiming to Police that he had dropped her in the shower, the post-mortem revealed "horrendous injuries - severe bruising to the head, including a cracked skull, and internal bruising." In addition to the injuries that resulted in her death, the autopsy also revealed that the baby was suffering from "six fractured ribs caused by a chest injury at least two weeks before her death" and was "malnourished with wasting buttocks and thighs". Pownceby was charged with murder, however the jury at his murder trial ruled that he was not guilty of murder but was guilty of manslaughter. Pownceby was sentenced to four years in jail. During the period 1998 to 2000, Pownceby was convicted of four violent assaults. One of these assaults was committed against an unnamed woman. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulan_Pownceby