The mother of a Canterbury baby who died of catastrophic head injuries has denied any involvement in her son's death.
By Tim Brown of RNZ
Soul Turany was less than four months old when he died in 2014.
No one has been charged over his death, but police have said either his mother, Storme Turany, or her then-partner, Tony Farmer, is responsible.
Coroner Ian Telford is examining the circumstances of Soul's death during a two-week inquest in the Coroners Court at Christchurch.
Turany gave evidence on Wednesday and denied ever having hurt Soul.
"Soul was everything to me – my kids are absolutely everything to me. Soul made me realise why I was put on this Earth and that was to be a mum," Turany told the inquest.
Turany told her lawyer Allister Davis she loved Soul "with everything I have".
Davis asked if she ever took her frustrations out on the boy: "Not once," Turany responded.
Had she ever injured Soul? "Not once," she responded again.
"Let me put this to you – did you have anything to do with Soul's death?" Davis asked.
"No, I did not," Turany answered.
The inquest heard Soul was taken to hospital on the morning of August 30 after emergency services were called to the rural home near Darfield he shared with Turany and Farmer.
Doctors found Soul's skull was broken in two places. He was bleeding in one eye and over a vast tract of his brain. The infant died in hospital early on August 31.
Turany's sister Skye Lamborn last week told the court about an occasion when Turany "chucked" Soul down on a bed and then called her in tears.
That episode came to light when Turany was being interviewed by police about a fortnight after Soul's death.
Lamborn was invited into the interview by investigators and told Turany to tell them about it.
But Lamborn told the coroner on Monday she offered the information as she wanted to get to the bottom of how her nephew died, and had no concerns about how her sister treated Soul or any other children, including her own.
Lamborn was adamant her sister was not involved in Soul's death.
Turany told the coroner on Wednesday the incident was blown out of proportion and she did not chuck her son on the bed.
"It was not chucked – I was over-dramatic and over-protective," Turany said.
"When I have put Soul down on the bed – I was so careful with Soul – so when I've put him down, it was firmer than I would have put him down every other time."
The court heard she had been concerned on another occasion when a fly landed on Soul.
Soul had been unwell in the days before August 30.
Asked about the morning Soul suffered the fatal injuries, Turany said Soul woke up about 3am and was unsettled. Turany said she tried settling him using paracetamol, nasal spray and by removing mucus from his nose.
When she could not get the boy to settle, she called Healthline about 6.30am. Soul was conscious when she called Healthline, Turany said.
Farmer was holding Soul when she made the call and stepped outside to speak to Healthline, Turany said. The phone call lasted about nine minutes.
"Tony had Soul for the entire duration I was on the call," Turany said.
"Tony was now standing up to hand Soul to me. He was standing up holding Soul ready to pass him to me and he's either said 'Storme' or 'babe', but it was in a very shocked voice.
"He looked really worried. As he's handing him to me, Soul's arms have gone completely limp. He's completely limp by the time he's handed him to me."
The coroner heard the couple met on the dating app Tinder just over a month after Soul's birth. The couple soon moved in together at Lamborn's home before moving into a residence on the dairy farm Lamborn managed with her husband.
Turany and Farmer had been living with Soul at that home for only about a month when he was fatally injured.
"Things were moving quite quickly," Turany said.
Farmer will give evidence on Thursday.
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