An Australian woman accused of the starvation murder of her seven-year-old daughter allegedly did not try to resuscitate the child because ants were crawling from her mouth, a New South Wales jury has been told.
The NSW Supreme Court, sitting at East Maitland, was told the seven-year-old girl, found dead at her Hawks Nest home on November 3, 2007, had the worst malnutrition one specialist had ever seen.
A post-mortem examination showed the child to be 106cm tall and weighing just 9kg at death, the court was told. "The face was distorted due to muscle wasting and no fat under the skin," Crown Prosecutor Peter Barnett SC told the jury. "The doctor found the child died of long-lasting starvation and neglect."
Mr Barnett said the child's father had told police his wife couldn't resuscitate the child because of the "black vomit and bull ants coming from her mouth".
Both parents, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are on trial after pleading not guilty to one count each of murder.
The jury of six men and six women had earlier been warned some of the photographic evidence to be presented could be as confronting as Nazi Germany holocaust images.
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