Jie Smith jailed for the manslaughter of six-month-old baby boy at New Lambton

A New Lambton man found guilty of the manslaughter of a six-month-old baby boy at his unit in 2019 has learned his fate. Read what happened.

Jie William Smith of New Lambton has been jailed for the manslaughter of a baby boy. Picture: Facebook

A judge has talked about the heartbreaking last few hours a six-month-old baby boy must have endured after the man who was looking after him failed to protect him and get the necessary medical help needed.

“The offender’s failure to take him to hospital or help accelerated the baby’s death, some of his last hours were in pain rather in care of professionals,” Justice Helen Wilson said at Jie Smith’s sentence in Newcastle’s Supreme Court on Wednesday.

During a trial in July, Smith was acquitted of murder and found guilty of the manslaughter of the baby boy at his New Lambton unit on February 9, 2019, after he admitting to dropping the child on its head.

The 31-year-old was jailed for four years and nine months with a non-parole period of three years and six months.

Jie William Smith has been jailed for 4 years and 9 months for the manslaughter of a baby boy. Picture: Facebook

With time already spent behind bars, Smith will be eligible for release in February next year.

In a scathing summary Justice Wilson said Smith was motivated not to seek immediate medical attention because he wanted to avoid police attention and when he finally did, it was too late.

“In his (baby’s) tragically brief life, he was exposed to danger and danger found him,” she said.

“He put the interest of an adult over the urgent needs of an injured baby. He failed him in the most grievous way, knowing he was injured.

“As a six-month-old baby he was completely dependant on him to have assistance. The whole community is diminished by the death of a child in these circumstances.”

During the trial, the court heard the baby, which was left solely in Smith’s care, was unsettled and suffered a seizure before he admitted to dropping the child on its head after it fell out of his arms.

The child’s eyes then rolled back into its head and soon after was unresponsive and went into cardiac arrest.

The prosecution said the child suffered numerous serious injuries during the time he spent with Smith including a fractured skull, before his death.

Smith’s defence team submitted to court that prior assaults allegedly caused by the boy’s mother punching and shaking the child, could have contributed to the baby’s death.

On Wednesday, Justice Wilson said Smith and the baby’s mother had lied and gave conflicting accounts of the child’s last hours and his state of wellbeing.

Smith will be eligible for release in February next year. Picture: Facebook

“Each with a motive to lie and both did lie about significant matters, neither gave evidence the court could accept, for those reasons the court cannot establish truly what happened to the baby,” she said.

“There must be a real sense of injustice. The court cannot truly vindicate the baby’s death.”

Justice Wilson also highlighted that the court was advised by police they had made no decision on the possibility of future charges that may be brought against the mother.

Therefore, Smith was not afforded any discount on his sentence for any “willingness” to give evidence against her.

In her final comments, Justice Wilson praised the actions of a brave neighbour who was woken on that fateful night to Smith yelling for help when the baby became unresponsive.

She said while his conduct, hysteria and appearance may have been frightening, the woman did everything she could to try and save the child before paramedics and police arrived.

“She is to be commended what she did that morning,” Justice Wilson said.