Brothers jailed over murder of toddler who was tortured in a hot clothes dryer

By Richard Shears

Tragic loss: Little Nia Glassie was murdered

As Britain reels from the shocking abuse of Baby P, on the other side of the world New Zealanders have been sickened by the murder of a three-year-old girl who was put in a dryer and hung from a clothes line.

Two men were found guilty on Tuesday of murdering little Nia Glassie and her mother was found guilty of manslaughter, with other defendants being found guilty of lesser crimes.

The month-long trial had heard how the child had been put in a clothes dryer, which was then turned on, while adults stood around laughing.

There were other times when the tiny Maori girl was tied to a clothes line and spun around while on other occasions she was subjected to painful wrestling moves that were carried out on her.

But the final fatal blow was a brutal kick to the head, which led to her dying in hospital.

Even then, she had not been taken immediately to hospital - she lapsed into a coma 36 hours after the blow which resulted in medical attention finally being sought.

A doctor told the court that if Nia had been taken to hospital immediately she likely would have survived.

Two brothers, Michael and Wiremu Curtis, were convicted of murdering Nia while the girl's mother 35-year-old mother Lisa Kuka was found guilty of failing to seek medical attention for the child and failing to protect her from violence.

The toddler's cousin, Michael Pearson, 20, and Michael Curtis's partner, Oriwa Kemp, 18, were found guilty of child cruelty, but were not convicted on the manslaughter charges they faced in the complex case.

Pearson and Kemp also lived in the house with the toddler.

Curtis denied kicking Nia, insisting she had fallen from his shoulders and hit her head on the ground.

During the hearing in the Rotorua High Court the jury was told by Crown prosecutor Fletcher Pilditch that Nia had suffered a long period of abuse that lasted weeks, possibly months.

Evil: Michael Pearson (left), Michael Curtis (second left) and Oriwa Kemp (right) in court at an earlier hearing

Referring to the tumble dryer incident, he said Nia was forced into it before the door was shut and the appliance turned on while people stood around laughing.

She had also been hoisted onto a clothes line and spun around.

Details of the child's torture outraged New Zealanders who flooded newspaper web sites with angry comments.

After the guilty verdicts were announced, the Mayor of Rotorua, Mr Kevin Winters said the Nia case had 'haunted' the resort town since last year.

'I'm pleased that a verdict has been reached and I'm also pleased that the community has rallied around since the death of baby Nia,' he said.

'Justice has been served.'

Social welfare groups admitted that while there had been concerns about baby Nia, she had somehow 'slipped through the net'.

Sentencing will be made at a later date.

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