Abuse of young girl described by mother

Press, 3 June 1982, Page 4

Abuse of young girl described by mother

A man used to call the girl, aged three, he is accused of murdering, a moll and a bitch, and he would hit her on the hand and bottom and she would fall down and bang her head, the girl’s mother told Mr Justice Casey and a jury in the High Court yesterday.

Tony Joseph Walker, aged 21. an unemployment beneficiary. has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering Aroha Hine Pattison, aged three, the daughter of his de facto wife, on September 22. Walker was said to be not the father of the girl.

Messrs K. G. Pankhurst and A. M. Mclntosh appear for the Crown, and Messrs K. N. Hampton and S. C. Barker for Walker.

Judith Ann Pattison, aged 23. a solo mother and beneficiary, said that she had two children — Aroha. who was born on August 18. 1978. and Sonny, who was born on November 7. 1979. Walker was not the father of either child. Last May she met the accused, Walker, through his brother, James Walker. At the time she was living with her mother or at the Women's Refuge Centre. Walker was on an unemployment benefit and she and the children moved in with him at his bed-sitting room in Barbadoes Street.

After leaving school she worked at the Marathon Rubber Company’s>factory in Woolston, making gumboots and sandshoes, and then at Alex Harvey Industries factory in Moorhouse Avenue, making shoes.

After they had been in the bed-sitting room in Barbadoes Street for about three months she was visited by the Social Welfare Department and was told that the accommodation was too small for two adults and two children.

They moved into a twobedroomed flat in Worcester Street but were there for only about a month when the premises were sold by the landlord. Walker then got them the three-bedroomed flat in Patten Street. Avonside.

Walker used to help her feed and bath the children, but he did not get on with Aroha whereas he did with Sonny. He kept picking on the girl and smacking her but he did not do the same to her son. Sometimes Walker's brother, James, and his girlfriend, Linda Randall, and others used), to stay at the Patten Street flat. Judith Pattison said. They, had been

living there about three weeks when Aroha died.

On moving there the relationship between Walker and her daughter became worse. He started "going mad at her" and her daughter for nothing, but he never did the same to her sbn.

Aroha was not old enough to be tidy and put her things and clothes away. Walker kept making her fold her pyjamas and when she did not do it properly he would smack her and make her do it again. Aroha was scared of Walker.

A couple of times she told Walker to leave the girl alone and he replied that she was spoilt and needed more discipline. She would tell the children off if they did anything wrong.

When Walker used to hit Aroha the girl would tell her and Walker called her names and a “tell-tale-tit." He used to call the girl a moll and a bitch. “He used to hit her all the time with his hand on her bottom or the hand. Every time he used to hit her so she would fall and hit her head. There were no problems with Sonny.” Judith Pattison said. Shown a coloured photograph of Aroha. Judith Pattison said that it had been taken when she was two. She began to sob. She said that she had had the girl's hair in a pony tail when they were living at Patten Street. On the Saturday before the girl died witness was washing her hair when she noticed bruises on both sides of her head under the hair. She had two bruises and scratches on her face.

Next day Walker was chasing Aroha when he bumped her or she fell on to a gas heater in the lounge. She heard the girl crying as she was doing the washing and when she went inside she saw that there was a red mark at the corner of her right eye. Aroha had never fallen down the stairs.

On the Tuesday she drew some money from the Dallington Post Office, took a taxi into town and bought Walker a pair of jeans.

They then went to the Social Welfare Department to change their address and after meeting some friends went to the Post Office cafeteria for lunch. She, Walker and the two children, with the youngest in a pushchair, walked to the Stanmore Road shops where groceries were purchased. From there they went home by taxi and she gave the children some lollies and drink which they had while sitting on the bedroom floor.

Walker took the same taxi to the Star and Garter Hotel to buy a dozen bottles of beer. About 5.30 p.m. she went to get fish and chips for tea. but the Dallington shop was closed so she had to walk to the Linwood shopping centre. When she left, Aroha was lying down because she had a sore stomach. She told Walker to look after her. Judith Pattison said. After an absence of about half an hour she returned home by taxi. As she went past the window she saw Aroha lying on her back on the bed. She did not have a key and had to wait for Walker to lei her in. He said that there was something wrong with Aroha.

There was blood coming from the girl’s mouth agd there were more bruises on her face than there were previously. , “She was just lying there with her eyes open. I was trying to wake her up but she wouldn't wake up. I was holding her hands and kissing her on the face." Judith Pattison said.

“Aroha was breathing funny and when I felt her chest it seemed as if all her bones were breaking. There was a noise."

On telling Walker to ring an ambulance he had said: "We’ll say that she fell down the stairs." Because she was scared of Walker she gave that story to the police. She knew that if she did not do what Walker said that she would get a hiding. Aroha was generally a healthy child. To Mr Hampton Judith Pattison denied that she had ever told Walker that she did not consider that Aroha’s death was his fault. She admitted that she had visited him in prison. She agreed that Walker had become pretty fond of the two children. He had helped her wash them and put them to bed. They both called him Dad.

During the time they were living in Barbadoes Street the children had been taken from her by the Social Welfare Department and put in a foster home for a few weeks. They had been taken from her on about two previous occasions!

She was upset by the loss of the children and Walker obtained a bigger flat for them so that she could get the children back. The Social Welfare Department inspected the “flat before the children were returned to her.

It was Walker who had got them the flat when they shifted to Patten Street. She

agreed that they had only been there for about six days when the girl died and not three weeks as she had stated earlier.

Most of the time Walker got on fairly well with Aroha except when he was disciplining her. After they shifted to Patten Street she agreed that Walker had disciplined the girl on only three occasions.

It was correct that the children had two different fathers. When the dog pulled Aroha into the car the cord attaching her to the dog was looped around her wrist. She fell face down on to the ground and it was a pretty hard fall. Walker was upset when it happened and untied the dog from around her wrist.

Judith Pattison said that when she picked the girl up she saw that she had cut her lip and there was a bruise on the right side of her forehead. She said that her head was hurting and that her stomach was sore. The girl said that she was not feeling well and she was put on the bed. She was given a drink of milk.

As she left the house to buy tea she looked in the window and saw that Aroha's head was hanging over the bed and she thought she might have been sick. She opened the window and called out but the girl did not answer. That was shen she got Walker to have a look at her. He picked her up and put her on his shoulder.