Jake Luscombe: Musswellbrook man pleads guilty to manslaughter after baby Alyviah Hayne shaken to death at South Grafton

A North Coast mum’s worst nightmare came true after she found her seven-month-old unresponsive and in cardiac arrest. Now, almost a decade later, the truth surrounding the tragic death has come to light.

Jacob Robert Luscombe pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Grafton Local Court.

It has been a long wait for justice for the family of a young baby who was shaken to death in the Clarence Valley.

In 2015, mum Brooke Skinner’s worst nightmare came true after she found her seven-month-old baby girl Alyviah Hayne unresponsive and in cardiac arrest.

Now, almost a decade later, the truth surrounding the young girl’s death has come to light.

In Grafton Local Court, Ms Skinner and father Mason Hayne watched on as Muswellbrook man Jake Luscombe, now aged 27, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The court heard Luscombe, who was in a relationship with Ms Skinner at the time, caused Alyviah’s death by significant shaking, which resulted in fatal injuries to the baby’s head and brain.

Luscombe pleaded guilty to manslaughter (generic picture of baby).

Documents tendered to court reveal the circumstances, for so long hidden in secrecy, which led to Luscombe’s offending.

In 2015, Luscombe, then aged 20 and living in South Grafton, was in a relationship with Ms Skinner after she had become estranged from Mr Hayne.

Ms Skinner and Luscombe lived together, along with Ms Skinner’s children, but by December of that year “there was tension in the relationship”, the court heard.

On December 3, Ms Skinner checked herself and her children into a motel because Luscombe had said he was needing space and “finding it hard with the kids”, police facts state.

“(But later that night) Luscombe texted (Ms Skinner) telling her to come back to the (South Grafton) unit,” the documents state.

The next morning, Ms Skinner woke to change the nappy of her young daughter, who “was behaving normally and observed to be laughing and smiling”.

The young girl was behaving normally earlier in the day. File image.

“Sometime later, (Ms Skinner) wanted to go to her father’s place to retrieve some cannabis she kept there … (Luscombe) suggested (she) leave (Alyviah) with him to make the trip easier,” court documents state.

Ms Skinner was only gone for 40 minutes.

“At some point during that time … (Luscombe) inflicted an unlawful and dangerous act upon the (baby), by which (Alyviah) suffered a traumatic non-accidental head injury by way of the application of rotational acceleration and deceleration force to her head,” police facts state.

Soon after Ms Skinner returned and found her baby unresponsive with froth around her nose.

Luscombe called for an ambulance and a neighbour saw him run to the front yard of the unit block yelling: “There is something wrong with the baby, can you come and help us.”

Paramedics arrived and realised Alyviah was in cardiac arrest.

She was pronounced dead at Grafton Hospital at 2:18pm, despite CPR and defibrillation attempts.

The court heard Luscombe took part in two police interviews — on December 4, 2015, and February 17, 2016 — during which he gave the same account and denied responsibility for the baby’s death.

In one interview, Luscombe even claimed “that (Ms Skinner) started shaking (the baby) and lost control,” the documents state.

A 2015 autopsy was inconclusive about the cause of the young child’s death, but a 2020 coronial inquest found otherwise, and referred the matter to the Department of Public Prosecutions.

Luscombe) was arrested and charged with the manslaughter of Alyviah on October 5, 2022.

In court, after Luscombe’s guilty plea, the Crown said the matter should be sentenced at Coffs Harbour District Court because of the large number of people expected to attend.

Luscombe is due to be sentenced in the court on May 17.