A QUEENSLAND mum who bashed her eight-year-old daughter to death with a vacuum cleaner pipe had accused the girl of exaggerating her symptoms in the days before she died.
The 28-year-old woman, a New Zealand citizen, was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Cairns on Tuesday after earlier pleading guilty to manslaughter.
The woman's 24-year-old Australian husband, who has also pleaded guilty to manslaughter, was sentenced to three years behind bars for turning a blind eye to the abuse.
It was revealed in court that the woman repeatedly beat her daughter over a two-week period in November 2011.
The girl was found dead in a unit in Cairns on November 28, 2011.
Her body was almost entirely covered in bruises, and doctors concluded she died from blood loss caused by blunt force trauma.
When questioned by ambulance staff about the bruises, the woman said: "I won't lie to you, some of them are from me".
The court heard the woman beat the girl with the end of the vacuum pipe after she refused to wash the dishes.
On another occasion, she bashed the child after the girl asked if she could return to New Zealand to live with her father.
Following yet another beating, the woman made the girl sit in her room with the lights off so her husband couldn't see the bruises she'd inflicted.
"If he found out or seen what I done I'd be out of the house," the mother told police.
In the days leading up to her death, the girl complained of dizziness and needed help getting to the toilet.
The woman said she didn't believe the girl and thought she was "exaggerating her symptoms".
Sentencing Judge James Henry said the girl was subjected to a "prolonged death".
"All the more horrific that it was suffered by someone so young," he said.
"This child was beaten to death."
The woman's lawyer, Joshua Trevino, told the court that his client had a number of mental health issues and had suffered serious sexual and physical assaults throughout her life.
Mr Trevino said his client had sought help from social services and family members after realising she had "angry feelings" toward her daughter.
Justice Henry acknowledged the woman's early guilty plea and her extensive mental health issues during sentencing.
However, he said there was no reason for him to believe social services had failed the woman.
Prosecutor Roger Griffith said the stepfather stopped the mother from abusing the girl on a number of occasions. However, the man admitted he could have done more.
"I could have done something," he said during an interview with police.
"The floggings have been going on for weeks. I've been trying to stop her. They mainly happen when I'm at work."
Those in the packed public gallery sobbed throughout the court proceedings.
The woman must serve at least half of her sentence, while her partner will be eligible for parole in May next year.
The pair can't be named for legal reasons.
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