R v Kinraid

The defendant, Philip Murray Kinraid, appeared before the High Court of New Zealand for sentencing following a guilty plea to the manslaughter of his two-year-old daughter, Esmé. Esmé died on June 26, 2015, after suffocating when Kinraid held her face down on her pillow to settle her. The maximum penalty for manslaughter is life imprisonment, but the court recognises that all manslaughter cases are different, and the facts of each case play an important role in deciding the appropriate sentence.

The court considered the aggravating factors of the case, including Esmé's vulnerability and defencelessness, the breach of trust involved in a father killing his daughter, the nature of the act, and the irredeemable harm caused to Esmé and her family. The court found that the case was more analogous to cases involving the deliberate shaking of a baby than to cases where a baby has died as a result of accidental omission. The court determined a starting point of six and a half years' imprisonment was warranted. The court also considered personal factors in mitigation, including Kinraid's cooperation with police, good character, and remorse. The court gave a discount of 10 months for cooperation, good character, and remorse, and a further 25 per cent discount for the guilty plea, resulting in a sentence of four years and three months imprisonment.

The court sentenced Kinraid to four years and three months imprisonment for the manslaughter of his daughter, Esmé. Home detention was not an option. The court acknowledged the devastating impact of Esmé's death on her family and the profound grief and trauma they have experienced. The court emphasised that every child deserves a future and that no baby or child should ever have their future taken away by an act of violence.