A mother of a 10-month-old baby has been charged with murder after she allegedly tried to drown the boy at home, before allegedly fatally restricting his breathing days later.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was initially charged with two counts of attempted murder after the baby was rushed to hospital twice in March.
The matter was mentioned at Sydney’s Downing Local Court on Thursday for the first time since the charges were upgraded to include murder.
She did not appear in court, where Magistrate Michael Barko said the woman faced both charges of attempted murder and murder.
Her lawyer told the court she had received a partial brief of evidence and police require more time to complete it.
The court heard a number of subpoenas had been sought by police, including from Hornsby Hospital, a number of medical practitioners and a last minute Swiss budget airline, Bravofly.
No application for bail was made, and the woman will remain in custody until her next court appearance in June.
NSW Police allege the woman tried to drown the child at a home in Westleigh on March 19.
Emergency services were called to the address about 7pm in response to reports a child was in distress.
The child was taken to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead where he was admitted for treatment, but the following day the woman allegedly left with the child.
Two days later on March 21, police were called to a Berowra Heights home following reports the child was found unresponsive.
Police allege the boy’s breathing was restricted by his mother, suffering fatal injuries.
The baby was again treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance and taken to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
The boy died in hospital from his injuries on March 23 – the same day his mother faced court for the first time.
Ku-ring-gai Police Area Command commenced inquiries and declared the address a crime scene, before detectives from the Child Abuse Squad spoke with the mother in hospital.
The woman was arrested and taken to Hornsby Police Station where she was charged with two counts of attempted murder.
She faced Hornsby Local Court on March 23, but the matter was adjourned to Thursday.
The woman posted videos of herself and the child to social media in the months before he died.
The matter will return to court on June 15.