Mother of allegedly murdered Newcastle baby arrested in Sydney

Three months after her new boyfriend was charged with killing her baby, the child’s mother will front court on child abuse charges.

Detectives have charged a 26-year-old woman with child abuse three months after her six-month-old baby was allegedly murdered by her new boyfriend. Picture: NSW Police

Detectives have charged a woman with child abuse offences following the death of her infant son on the NSW Mid North Coast in February.

Police swooped on the 26-year-old at a house in Marrickville in Sydney’s inner west around 10am yesterday.

She was taken to Newtown Police Station and charged with failure of provide for child causing danger of death, intent to pervert the course of justice and drive while disqualified.

The woman’s boyfriend, Jie William Smith, 28, was charged with murder following the boy’s death while in his care on February 10.

The couple had been seeing each other for just six weeks, police said.

Detectives arrest the deceased baby's mother in Marrickville on Thursday. Picture: NSW Police

The 26-year-old faces child abuse charges following the death of her six-month-old baby in her boyfriend’s care in February. Picture: NSW Police

Police and emergency services were called to a home on New Lambton, near Newcastle just after 4.30am on Saturday, February 9 following reports a six-month-old boy had gone into cardiac arrest.

The child was taken to John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition. Hospital staff fought to save him but he died late on Sunday February 10.

A post mortem examination found the child died as a result of a traumatic head injury.

“He suffered horrific injuries — injuries that were that severe that it’s taken his life,” Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec said at the time.

“I won’t go into detail, needless to say it affected everyone that turned up in that location.

“It affected the hospital staff, the ambulance staff — it’s horrendous. Let’s just leave it at that for now.”

Jie William Smith, 28, of New Lambton, has been charged with killing his new girlfriend’s six-month-old son. Picture: Facebook

Smith has been remanded in custody to front court later this month. Picture: Facebook

Detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad, Newcastle City Police and the NSW Homicide Squad formed Strike Force Wandearah to investigate the circumstances surrounding the infant’s death.

They arrested Smith on February 14 and charged him with murder and reckless grievous bodily harm. An additional charge of dishonestly obtaining property by deception was laid last week. He has been remanded in custody to appear at Newcastle Local Court later this month.

Police said the New Lambton man had been in a relationship with the baby’s mother, who was not present on the night her son was fatally injured, for about six weeks.

The child’s mother was refused bail to appear at Newtown Local Court today.