Brendan Pallant murder trial: Accused killer ‘screamed’ after finding toddler dead

An accused killer “screamed at the top of my lungs” after discovering his girlfriend’s toddler dead, a court has been told.

A man accused of murdering his girlfriend’s toddler told police he “screamed at the top of my lungs” after discovering the body, a court has been told.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court trial of Brendan Pallant, 36, was played recordings of his arrest and interview following the death of Jaidyn Gomes-Sebastiao, 2.

Prosecutors, led by Mark Gibson KC, allege Jaidyn was struck by Mr Pallant in a “short but profound” bout of frustration in the afternoon of September 2, 2019.

He has pleaded not guilty, with his barrister Rishi Nathwani saying the jury will have to decide if he inflicted the fatal injuries.

The court was told Jaidyn survived for ‘tens of minutes’ after he was severely injured. Picture: Supplied

In the interview, a visibly upset Mr Pallant tells police he has no idea what happened to Jaidyn, whose body was discovered shortly after 4pm.

“I haven’t seen him f--k all,” he said less than two hours after the toddler was pronounced dead.

“I don’t think I’d even seen him since the morning.”

The jury heard Mr Pallant tell police his girlfriend, Stacie Saggers, put Jaidyn down for a nap about 12.30pm before leaving for a cleaning job.

He said she returned about 3pm and the pair “dozed off” before deciding to wake Jaidyn up at 4pm.

Mr Pallant said he entered Jaidyn’s room, saw him lying face down on the floor and covered with blood before screaming.

“I scooped him up and ran into the lounge room,” he said.

“I screamed at the top of my lungs ‘call triple-0’.”

Brendan Pallant has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jaidyn. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

Earlier, two medical experts told the jury they believed Jaidyn died from an assault “rather than an accident”.

Dr Michael Burke, a forensic pathologist who conducted Jaidyn’s autopsy, told the court the cause of death was attributed to brain injuries caused by “moderate to severe” blunt force trauma.

He said the impact resulted in a 1cm by 2cm depressed fracture on the right side of his head, which matched the shape and dimensions of the table leg.

“It’s important to say I don’t know that that’s what did it, there‘s a lot of things that could have caused it,” he said.

Dr Burke told the court it was unlikely, in his opinion, the “extensive” fractures to Jaidyn’s skull could have been caused by a fall.

“I believe it’s due to an assault,” he said.

“The extent of the brain injury is too great to attribute to an accident.”

The court was told Mr Pallant moved into Jaidyn’s mum’s home shortly after the pair began dating in August. Picture: Supplied

Dr Anne Smith, a specialist in paediatric medicine, agreed with her colleague’s opinion, saying the “very complex” combination of bruises and other injuries found on Jaidyn included areas “very uncommonly” attributed to accidental trauma.

Under questioning by Mr Nathwani, Dr Smith said each bruise could have been caused by an accident, but the extent and location of injuries indicated an assault.

“The pattern of injury and totality of injury is not something I would associate with accident,” she said.

Jaidyn’s mother, Stacie Saggers, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, gave evidence earlier in the trial about a spate of unexplained bruises on the boy in the days prior to his death.

She said she initially believed he had twice pulled furniture down onto himself, but later began to suspect Mr Pallant.

In his opening address to the jury, Mr Nathwani said questions would be raised about whether bruises sustained by Jaidyn occurred before he began dating Ms Saggers.

He said Ms Saggers had been “inconsistent” with what she told people about the bruising and added his client may not have been the last person to see Jaidyn alive.

The trial, before Justice Jane Dixon, continues.

Originally published as Brendan Pallant murder trial: Accused killer ‘screamed’ after finding toddler dead