The 27-year-old Northland woman charged with neglect after a two-year-old girl was discovered alive in a suitcase on board an Intercity bus is seeking a defence of insanity.
This was confirmed in the Auckland District Court today by the woman’s lawyer, Kate Goodman-Creed. She said she had sought a psychiatric report, which would be referred to the Crown, for it to assess and decide whether to commission one of its own.
Under the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act, a court can find a case against a person is proven, but can rule they are not criminally responsible by reason of insanity.
The Court set a date in June next year for a jury trial, should it be required.
The charges of neglect and ill treatment followed an incident in August, when an Intercity bus driver discovered the two-year-old alive in the luggage compartment during a scheduled stop in Kaiwaka, during a trip from Whangārei to Auckland.
At the time, police said the driver noticed a bag was moving and opened it to discover the girl, who was taken to the hospital.
Police allege the girl faced serious health risks, including suffocation, carbon monoxide poisoning and psychological trauma.
The accused woman is on bail and has permanent name suppression.
