Father accused of murdering baby may have suffered from seizures

A murder-accused who told police he dropped his baby into bathwater after slipping and knocking himself unconscious had suffered epileptic seizures in the past, a court has been told.

Kevin Joseph Charles Little, 27, of Kaitangata, South Otago, is charged with murdering his seven-month-old daughter Alyssa Patricia Little-Murphy on March 25 at Nelson.

A depositions hearing is being held in the Nelson District Court.

Giving evidence today, neurosurgeon Venkataraman Balakrishnan said that after looking at photographs of the bathroom where Alyssa was found floating face down in the bath and a forehead injury to Little, he believed it was conceivable Little might have struck his forehead either on an open vanity door or the edge of a ceramic vanity.

But he said considerable force on the vanity top would be needed to render a person unconscious for one to two minutes.

Dr Balakrishnan is a consultant neurosurgeon for the Capital and Coast District Health Board, and the director of neurosurgery at Waikato District Health Board.

Under questioning by Little's lawyer Anne Stevens, Mr Balakrishnan said it was possible Little could have suffered an epileptic seizure.

He agreed that a medical letter from 1989 indicated Little, at the age of 10, sustained a head injury from playing football and then had epileptic seizures.

Three other pages from Little's medical history showed he had sustained head injuries in 1999 and 2000.

The hearing continues.