Sentenced: “I’ve Sinned, Man Said Through A Translator, I Murdered My Daughter”

[Sugar Cookie]

A father whose identity was kept secret throughout his trial and sentencing for beating his baby daughter to death can now be revealed as Vaila Sopo, 26, of Manurewa, Auckland.

Today’s name suppression lapse means 8-month-old victim Falute Vaila can also be named for the first time since her death at a South Auckland medical clinic. Next week will mark the second anniversary of her death.

Jurors in the High Court at Auckland found the defendant guilty of murder in March after watching a police interview in which the man admitted through a translator: “I’ve sinned. I murdered my daughter”. His lawyers had argued he didn’t know the proper legal definition of murder and he was instead guilty of manslaughter.

He also admitted to police he turned his aggression on the 8-month-old because she looked as if she was afraid of him.

Justice Laura O’Gorman ordered a life sentence for Sopo last month with a stipulation he serve at least 17 years before he can begin to apply for parole.

Falute died on May 23, 2022, shortly after her mother took her to Watford Medical Centre in Ōtara, South Auckland.

The defendant denied hurting his daughter while speaking to police on the night of her death. But in an hours-long follow-up police interview a week later, he admitted to slapping his daughter’s legs and hands out of anger because she had cried when he went into the room where she was sleeping. The two had never bonded and she acted cold towards him, he explained.

As the interview progressed, he admitted to pushing the baby’s stomach then eventually – after police showed him an autopsy photo of his daughter and read aloud her long list of injuries – admitted to punching his daughter four times with an estimated force of seven out of 10.

A demonstration of the blows appeared to show enough force to easily hurt an adult, with him putting his back into the pantomimed strikes.

The final blow, as he braced the infant’s head with one hand and punched with the other, perforated the child’s bowel. Left untreated, with only the defendant aware of what had occurred, the internal injury became fatal over the course of several days.

Defence lawyer Mark Williams described the child’s death during the trial as “tragic, unforgivable and unnecessary”. But his client never anticipated the blows could be fatal and so shouldn’t be found guilty of murder, he argued.

Auckland man who beat his baby girl to death can finally be named

Baby Falute's father has kept his identity secret until now, despite lengthy prison term.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[BuffettGirl]

Four or five blows from a man his size, that he says were a "seven out of 10" of his full strength, would easily kill a man, let alone an eight month old baby...

 

[cubby]

If he didn't know that hitting a baby that hard would kill him, then he is stupider than he looks.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

If he didn't know that hitting a baby that hard would kill him, then he is stupider than he looks.

New Zealand has a real big issue with child abuse in it's indigenous population - so he is probably parenting how he parented.