Mother of boy that died after being violently shaken by father Brandon Lee Harris tells court she was made to feel like the criminal
A mother whose partner shook their son so hard he went blind and later died says she was betrayed by the man she loved.
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A young mother whose son died after being shaken by her partner told a court that she was betrayed by the man she loved and made to feel like a “terrible mother” during the subsequent police investigation.
Brandon Lee Harris, 23, left his son Kobi with serious injuries after shaking the child when he was five weeks old.
More than a year later, blind and suffering from myriad health issues, Kobi died in the arms of his carer.
Harris was serving a four-year prison sentence with a non-parole period of 18 months for causing serious injury to the baby when he was charged with manslaughter after the baby.
The original sentence will be overturned and he will be resentenced on that charge.
During sentencing submissions on Thursday Kobi’s mother said that initially she couldn’t believe that Harris would hurt the five-week-old.
“Brandon was supposed to help me protect him from harm,” she wrote in a victim impact statement.
“As a result of the injuries there was a police and child abuse investigation. I was charged with criminal neglect.
“I was devastated because I loved my son and never hurt him. I was arrested because of Brandon’s actions.
“I have never felt so low: my beautiful baby boy was fighting for his life, I was made to feel like a terrible mother and the man I loved had caused us pain and suffering.
“I was cleared of any neglect but still felt devastated that my parenting was questioned.”
Kobi was removed from her care following the incident.
The court heard that at the time Kobi was shaken he was already recovering from an injured collarbone.
Harris said Kobi had “thrown himself” out of his arms when he was about three weeks old.
Supreme Court Justice Mark Livesey questioned Harris’ story that a three-week-old baby had managed to “throw himself” anywhere.
“There are clear signs of a long-term injury, it is clear that something did happen,” he said.
The fall resulted in an injured collarbone, which was healing at the time he was shaken by his father on May 22, 2018.
In August 2019 Kobi succumbed to his injuries.
Gemma Noone, who took over Kobi’s care, wrote that the child was left “blind and in the dark” after the assault but found comfort in the last months of his life with his new family.
“He knew my voice and the voice of his siblings, he knew he was loved,” she said.
“He has such gorgeous smiles and the even rarer laughs are treasured moments.”
The court heard Harris was “truly sorry for what he had done to his son”.
Harris has struggled to come to grips with his crime and despite having “very good prospects or rehabilitation”, has been in the high-dependency unit at Yatala for treatment.
He will be sentenced in August.