Malcolm Robert Bell

At least two people had contacted Oranga Tamariki with concerns about the welfare of Malcolm before he suffered the suspected abuse-related injuries which led to his death on June 29. Six days before he died, the toddler was rushed to Starship Hospital, where doctors assessed him and, believing the injuries were not accidental, notified police. A homicide investigation was launched by police shortly after. Malcolm was one of six children and all of his siblings had previously been taken from his mother and are now in foster or whanau care. The Herald has also reported that Malcolm is a nephew of triple murderer William Dwane Bell. Malcolm's maternal 41-year-old uncle killed three people during a drug-fuelled robbery at the Mt Wellington Panmure RSA in December 2001. William Bell, who is serving a 30-year non-parole life sentence, is the older brother of Malcolm's mother Savanna Bell, 29. Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/alleged-killer-of-toddler-malcolm-bel....

Auckland man Phillip Welsh sentenced for manslaughter over death of Malcolm Bell: Auckland man Phillip Welsh has been sentenced to nearly six years in jail over the death of baby Malcolm Bell. Welsh pleaded guilty to manslaughter, admitting his role in Malcolm's death, on the eve of his scheduled jury trial. More than a year had passed since the death of the baby boy, who was 17 months old. Reading a statement to the High Court at Auckland, Malcolm's mother, Savanna Bell, said she was haunted at night by visions of her son's "little body" being smashed. According to the summary of facts, on June 23 last year Welsh threw Malcolm with significant force towards a couch while more than a metre away. Malcolm hit the back of the couch, the wooden frame of which was thinly covered, and fell to the floor. "He was immediately rendered unconscious and did not move," Justice Christian Whata said. At 7.32pm, Welsh had called Bell, saying Malcolm was having a seizure and needed an ambulance. Justice Whata said there were three seriously aggravating factors in the offending. Firstly, there had been "extreme, indeed brutal violence". "You threw Malcolm with such sufficient force it caused a major head injury." The medical notes observed that if the child had survived he would have suffered blindness, Justice Whata said. Secondly, Malcolm was "utterly vulnerable" and there had been a breach of trust. Third was a "deliberate" concealment of the offending from medical officers at the time. For manslaughter, Welsh was sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison. The judge set a minimum non-parole period of half that term. Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-man-phillip-welsh-sentenced-....