Accused blames mother for toddler's death

Christchurch murder accused Troy Taylor took the stand in his own defence and broke down in tears throughout his testimony in the Christchurch High Court on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old is accused of the murder of Ihaka Stokes and told the jury he wished he did more to help the toddler.

"I blame myself every day, maybe if I did something then maybe he'd still be here."

Four-month-old Ihaka died at his Christchurch home back in July 2015 as a result of 59 injuries.

The night before his death, Taylor revealed he accidently dropped Ihaka. 

Members of the public gallery were visibly upset as Taylor spoke about his relationship with Ihaka.

He called him his shadow that he loved and adored and described the toddler's mother, Mikala, as his best friend. 

Mikala was the only other person who was in the house that night, and the defence argues it was her who inflicted the fatal blows.

Taylor says he came home to find Ihaka struggling to breathe and thought Mikala was responsible. 

"I lay in bed - I didn't know what to do."

"I didn't want to get her into trouble, I really didn't know what to do."

He says he covered for her the night Ihaka died, telling police he heard a bang coming from the toddler's room. 

"I wanted to protect Mikala," he told the court.

At the time, Taylor was suffering from a concussion that he says would cause him stress but said he never took it out on anyone.  

Taylor is expected to continue giving evidence in the Christchurch High Court tomorrow. 

Newshub.