Reef Rippa Stone

Cherie Denese Nagle admitted a charge of manslaughter after her premature baby boy, Reef Rippa Stone, died at Taranaki Base Hospital on August 4 last year when 11 days old. Doctors said his life could have been saved if she had got medical attention earlier for the six-week home-birthed premature baby. A consultant paediatrician, Robert Primhak, who reported the death to police, described the baby as having the most severe hypernatraemic dehydration he had seen. The post mortem found Reef had Down syndrome, congenital heart complaint and died of dehydration and meningitis. In discharging Nagle without conviction, Justice Joe Williams assessed the offending as low level. Earlier, Cherie Clarke called for a conviction — but no penalty — for what the Crown assessed as gross negligence. ‘‘But it is clear from the summary that this is still a serious case of gross negligence and the length of time before the baby was seen by a paediatrician at the hospital.’’ Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/9210204/Judges-mercy-to...