A Te Puna woman charged with the ill-treatment and murder of a 5-year-old Bay of Plenty child has today pleaded guilty.
Malachi Subecz who died last November after being admitted to Starship Hospital with multiple injuries. Photo:
Michaela Barriball, 27, appeared at the Tauranga High Court on Wednesday via audio-visual link from prison for a case-review hearing.
Barriball was last year charged with murder and injuring with intent to injure.
Two charges were also laid in relation to her failure to look after the child - offending the judge described as both physical and verbal abuse and malnourishment.
One of the charges stemmed from severe burns suffered by the child, which were not attended to by Barriball.
Malachi Subecz was found with multiple injuries at a Te Puna property on 1 November last year and was immediately flown to Starship Hospital.
He died 11 days later.
During the hearing, a sombre-looking Barriball sat slumped at the back of the audio-visual suite, with the judge struggling to hear her speak at points.
As each of the charges was read, Barriball quietly read her plea to the court.
Barriball's sister, Sharron Barriball, earlier this month pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice, also related to the offending.
Both are set to be sentenced on 30 June.
This story was produced by Open Justice - Te Pātiti, a public interest journalism initiative funed by NZ on Air.