Harrowing details of 5yo’s abuse revealed after being killed by caregiver

Shocking details have emerged of the abuse inflicted on a five-year-old boy before he was tortured to death by his caregiver. WARNING: Graphic content.

WARNING: Graphic content.

New Zealand boy Malachi Rain Subecz was beaten, starved, thrown against walls and intentionally burnt with scorching hot water in the months before he was eventually killed – by the woman entrusted to look after him by the Family Court.

The malnourished five-year-old, weighed just 16kg when he died in November last year.

His caregiver, Michaela Barriball, 27, of New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty, last week pleaded guilty to his murder, alongside two charges of ill-treatment of a child and a single charge of injuring with intent to injure, New Zealand Herald reports.

The details of the case are able to be reported for the first time today, with the Crown only now releasing the summary of facts detailing the abuse Malachi suffered on a regular basis.

According to those facts, Malachi had been placed in the care of Barriball in June 2021 at the request of his mother. The reasons that led to the care arrangement are suppressed and cannot be reported.

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Five-year-old Malachi Subecz died after repeatedly being abused by his carer Michaela Barriball, who was granted interim custody of the child by the Family Court. Picture: Supplied

On September 13, while the country was under lockdown restrictions, an “interim” care arrangement was finalised at the Tauranga Family Court, with the child officially being placed in Barriball’s care despite other members of the family also seeking interim custody.

Barriball, who was unemployed, lived in a rented cabin in Te Puna, 200km southeast of Auckland. She was in a volatile relationship with her partner who also lived at the property, the summary of facts states.

While Malachi was in her care, Barriball began repeatedly assaulting the child “on a daily basis”, slapping him in the head, face, and body.

He would frequently soil himself, which Barriball would respond to by stripping the child naked and locking him outside or in a car, according to the statement of facts.

Barriball would force the child to stand for prolonged periods of time, only being allowed to sit when given permission, and also deprived him of food.

One bout of abuse saw Barriball pick Malachi up by his hair, launching him against a wall, before repeatedly striking him in the face.

Frustrated with the child, Barriball messaged her partner saying she was going to kill him.

One of the most graphic attacks happened when she held him under the water while having a bath. The child pleaded with her to stop, but she forced him back under the water again, the statement of facts said.

Michaela Barriball, pictured here ducking below the camera at a previous court appearance in December. She last week pleaded guilty to the murder of Subecz. Picture: NZME

Injuries discovered by daycare staff

It wasn’t long before staff at his daycare noticed significant bruising on him.

According to the statement of facts, Malachi had blunt-force trauma injuries to his head, large swelling and a black eye.

When asked about them, Barriball explained the injuries by saying the child had “fallen off his bike”. When the daycare staff began to attend to the injuries, he told them that his caregiver would be angry if she knew he was receiving first aid treatment.

The abuse continued.

Around 20 days later, Malachi was at home and had soiled himself. Frustrated, Barriball took him into the shower and turned the hot water on – later measured by investigators to be at a temperature of 73C.

Amid screaming, Barriball forcibly sprayed the child with the scorching showerhead. He suffered severe burns, including a large, deep, 13cm blackened injury on his abdomen.

He was then picked up by Barriball and left on a sheet, where he continued to scream in pain, the statement of facts said.

Messages show that Barriball toyed with the idea of taking the child to the hospital, but decided against it due to fear of prosecution.

Five days after the shower abuse, Barriball took him to a family gathering at a Mt Maunganui restaurant.

Other family members discovered the burns covering the child, but Barriball lied, telling her family that the child had accidentally suffered burns in the shower and had already been seen by a doctor.

Michaela’s sister Sharron Barriball has also pleaded guilty to a single charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice after attempting to destroy evidence. Picture: NZME

Child went trick-or-treating before death

The night of Halloween, Barriball took Malachi and her three nephews trick-or-treating around the Tauranga suburb of Welcome Bay.

The next day, Barriball was due to attend a Family Court hearing to determine the final care arrangements for Malachi. That morning, Barriball frantically called property managers in an attempt to find more suitable accommodation.

Being rejected by those she spoke to, she lashed out, inflicting blunt force injuries on the child.

He was then carried unconscious into the house, suffering seizures.

An ambulance was called. Within hours, Malachi was transferred to Starship Hospital and put into an induced coma. He was suffering from a brain haemorrhage, and substantial bruises across his entire body.

The child weighed just 16kg at the time of his death – the same weight he was two years earlier as a toddler.

Malachi died from his injuries on November 12.

Barriball was charged with murder, as well as two additional charges of ill-treatment of a child, and a single charge of injuring with intent to injure.

She pleaded guilty to all four charges last week.

Barriball’s sister, Sharron Barriball, has also pleaded guilty to a single charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice, after she attempted to remove items of clothing worn by Malachi during the abuse from the cabin.

Both are set to be sentenced next month.

This article originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald and was reproduced with permission