The jury has retired to consider its verdict in the trial of a Tauranga pair charged with child neglect against a toddler.
The Crown claims 25-year-old Bronwyn Williams and 27-year-old Matthew Gray repeatedly assaulted Ms Williams' daughter, and/or failed to obtain medical care in a timely way.
The trial has centred on a series of unexplained bruises that appeared on the child between February and April last year.
The court heard that in March, Ms Williams took her daughter to the family doctor - who noted extensive bruising to her back and arms.
She was referred for a blood test, but the Crown says this didn't take place until two weeks later.
It's also claims Ms Williams delayed taking the child to the doctor after a black eye appeared.
In the following weeks the toddler was admitted to hospital twice with bruising, with no medical explanation for their cause.
Judge David Wilson has told jurors they must exclude sympathy and prejudice.
"You have to decide if the case is a 'witch-hunt' - as the defence claims, based on speculation and poor science - or whether it's a 'reconstruction of what must've happened to the small girl when she was in the care of the defendants'."
He reminded them it's a case based on circumstantial evidence, and not one where there are photographs or eyewitness accounts of either defendants assaulting the child.
The Crown's submissions include:
The defence's submissions include:
The trial has lasted seven days.
Newshub.
