Appeal court quashes Queensland dad's manslaughter conviction

Appeal court quashes Queensland dad's manslaughter conviction

A Queensland father convicted of killing his six-week-old son has had his conviction quashed and a retrial ordered by Queensland's Court of Appeal.

Townsville man Nicholas Aaron Baxter pleaded not guilty to killing his baby son Matthew by shaking or striking but was found guilty of manslaughter by a Supreme Court jury in November 2017.

The higher court on Friday allowed his appeal, quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial, partly on the grounds of rib fracture evidence that was heard at trial.

The baby died three days after being rushed to hospital, where he was found to be suffering from a traumatic brain injury in November 2011, according to the decision.

Matthew was left in the sole care of the accused on the morning of November 3 while Mr Baxter's partner, Matthew's mother, went on a boat-licensing course.


The couple exchanged text messages throughout the morning until midday that did not suggest the baby was suffering from any medical issues.

At 1.35pm that same day Baxter called a medical centre and described his son as having a "weakened state of consciousness".

He was told to call an ambulance, which he did.

When paramedics arrived at the home, they found Baxter using two fingers to give compressions to Matthew's chest in an attempt to resuscitate him.

Paramedics said he gave them a "a very good clinical handover" and described his child as behaving normally before making "some gurgling noises" and becoming unresponsive.

During his 23-day trial, Baxter said he was a loving and caring father who did not harm his son.

Because there were no witnesses or anyone else in the home, prosecutors could only prove their case circumstantially on medical evidence.

The appeal judgment found evidence given by a doctor about rib fractures "illustrat(ed) the risk of unfair prejudice".


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