Crown and defence dispute intention of uncle accused of murdering baby Chance

There is no dispute Boston Wilson was a good, loving father to his four girls.

But on December 15, 2021, the Crown say Wilson “lost it” in a moment of rage or frustration and picked up his crying nephew, shaking him with such force it caused serious brain injuries.

Wilson then either fired baby Chance through the air or he was deliberately struck against a table, the Crown say.

But the defence paints a very different picture. They don’t dispute Wilson shook baby Chance, but they say it was in an attempt to get him to breathe and there was an accidental dropping and knock to the head.

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Baby Chance Aipolani-Nielson had extensive bleeding on his brain, bleeding behind the eyes, splitting of the retinas, widespread brain damage, fractures to his skull and spinal bleeding when he died at Starship Hospital two days later.

Chance’s uncle, Boston Wilson, was the only person in the Birkdale house, when the Crown says the 10-month-old received the fatal injuries.

Wilson has pleaded not guilty to murder but ultimately accepts he caused Chance’s death.

Auckland’s Crown Solicitor Alysha McClintock and defence lawyer Lorraine Smith closed their cases to the jury on Friday.

McClintock told the jury the medical evidence in this case revealed a clear picture and didn’t add up to Wilson’s “farcical” explanations.

On December 15, baby Chance was otherwise fine, despite a little runny nose leftover from a cold.

“Chance started crying, he just wouldn’t stop crying. He went into Chance’s room and picked him up and shook him extremely violently, that’s the evidence,” McClintock said.

Baby Chance stopped breathing. His brain had been fatally injured at this point and that was enough for reckless murder, the Crown say.

But then the Crown say Chance was either struck against a table or was fired through the air.

“That is reckless murder. Pure and simple,” McClintock said.

He died with one of the most severe brain injuries a radiologist had seen.

“There is no universe in which you shake a 10-month-old baby like that in order to get it breathing. That belies the extremely violent reality of what Boston Wilson did to Chance’s head. It’s there in the scans, in the expert evidence,” McClintock said.

The prosecutor submitted Wilson’s regret and panic started a series of lies which travelled to the courtroom.

“Murder regretted is still murder,” she said.

But Smith, said every action Wilson took on that fateful day was to save Chance’s life.

He’s now accepted he caused the death.

“That’s what matters. He’s not tried to water down the fact of his actions.”

Wilson denied shaking Chance until he gave evidence, which the prosecution say was because he couldn’t escape the medical evidence.

He then told the court he didn’t tell anyone because he was afraid he would be taken away from his family and wouldn’t be able to work as a cleaner to support them.

“He has finally owned up in this court to what he has done, and he has to live with that the rest of his life.”

Smith said Wilson’s evidence made sense, and he never intentionally caused harm to Chance, a baby he loved and cared for as his own and wanted to adopt.

When he walked into the bedroom on December 15, he saw a pale baby not looking normal, and he panicked, Smith said.

Smith suggested baby Chance may have had a seizure which meant he became unresponsive.

That was the event that triggered Wilson’s actions.

“That shaking was to save his life not to take his stress out on him,” Smith submitted.

The defence lawyer submitted Chance lived in a safe, loving home.

There was no evidence Wilson had ever been violent towards his daughters or Chance and wasn’t a man who snapped suddenly.

“Boston Wilson did not murder the boy he loved,” Smith said.

Justice Christine Gordon will sum the case up to the jury on Monday.