Face-paint abuse mother jailed

A woman who hit her daughter in the head with a hammer then covered her injuries with face paint to avoid detection has been jailed.

The Napier woman, who cannot be named, assaulted her then 9-year-old daughter on June 22, 2020. Two days later, the woman put the girl on a plane to Christchurch so that Oranga Tamariki caregivers would not see her injuries.

The girl’s injuries were uncovered by two Air New Zealand cabin crew members as they removed face paint from the girl after becoming suspicious. A jury took only two hours to find the woman guilty after a week-long trial in October last year.

She was put in custody after being found guilty of two charges of assaulting her daughter with intent to injure, hitting her in the head with a hammer, failing to seek medical attention for her, and two charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The woman, aged in her 30s, claimed she had never hit the girl and had never noticed any of the bruises.

She was sentenced by Judge Geoff Rea in Napier District Court yesterday to three years and two months in prison.

The woman’s lawyer, Laurie McMaster, said the woman was genuinely remorseful.

Judge Rea said a letter sent by the woman to the judge and the officer in charge following the trial appeared to show the lengths of manipulation the woman was capable of and ‘‘was a little OTT [over the top]’’. ‘‘I’ve never seen a letter like it,’’ the judge said.

Crown lawyer Brenna McKenzie said it was difficult to compare this case to others as there was not a full explanation for how the injuries were caused to the girl.

She said any remorse shown by the woman must be tempered against her denial, which required the young girl to give evidence at trial.

The judge said it was fortunate that two flight attendants acted in the way they did.

He said the case against the woman was ‘‘overwhelming’’ and she was manipulative in the time leading up to the trial, and over the course of it, including asking relatives to provide false evidence.

He said she had endeavoured in various ways to obtain bail by writing directly to the judge and appealing to the High Court. She later sent another letter acknowledging fault and thanking everyone involved with the case. Whether that was genuine or more evidence of her manipulative behaviour would be known in time, he said.