Man who beat his son to death told cops he was 'not the parent of the year'

Friday, 9 July 2021

After inflicting a horrific reign of abuse on his own 5-year-old son, who he beat to death in February last year, William James Sio told police he was “not the parent of the year”.

That admission is included in the police summary of facts into the murder of Ferro-James Sio, which has been released to Stuff as Sio was sentenced at the High Court in Rotorua on Friday to life imprisonment.

He will serve 17 years before he is eligible for parole.

He was sentenced after pleading guilty to one charge of murder, three charges of ill-treatment of a child and one charge of assault.

**READ MORE:

* The state paid $1300 a week for a room in emergency housing where a boy was murdered, but what did it do to keep him safe?

* Not guilty plea, and shout of 'murderer' as alleged child killer appears at High Court

* Court appearance for man charged with Rotorua child's murder

* Rotorua child in abuse case remembered as a 'cute little kid'

**

Before his sentencing a victim impact statement from Ferro-James's mother was read to the court by a support person.

“I trusted the father to look after him. I trusted you William … you had one job, that was to be his father,” she said.

“I will never forgive you for what you have done.”

A second victim impact statement from one of Ferro-James’s aunts was also read by Crown prosecutor Amanda Gordon.

She said his death has adversely affected his cousins and that she now suffered from depression and anxiety.

“If I could, I would stay in my bed in the dark, all day every day,” she said.

“Ferro was the most loving, easy kid. If you couldn’t see that why didn’t you seek help? So many people out there would have taken him in a heartbeat.”

Sio’s lawyer Fraser Woods said his client had been affected by the death of his mother, and his own exposure to violence, but also described the offending as “totally unacceptable, no two ways about it”.

“It will be a difficult journey for him to reconcile he was responsible for his son’s death. He will have to live with this for the rest of his life and it’s something he deeply regrets.”

Over 11 pages, the summary details the appalling abuse suffered by Ferro-James, who was described by family members and school staff as “a polite, friendly child, who had a great nature”.

The summary revealed Sio, 25, and his partner, Leza Rawiri, 30, would both “frequently” assault the child.

Ferro-James was also shut in his bedroom, sometimes for a whole day.

“Another form of punishment the defendant Sio would inflict was putting Ferro-James in the corner of the room, facing the wall with his hands up in the air for 30 minutes at a time,” the summary said.

“At other times, he would have to sit in the corner of the room and not move, sometimes for hours. If Ferro-James would move or complain, he would be assaulted and then forced to remain for an additional period of time.”

Ferro-James would also be punished by being forced to stand for hours with his hands up on the wall.

“If he dropped his hands he would be assaulted, and the ‘punishment’ would continue.”

These punishments would be “for little things, like touching items in the room, or for not sitting quietly and watching TV”.

The abuse, between Sio and Rawiri, and directed at Ferro-James, could sometimes be heard by other residents at the emergency housing accommodation they lived in on Rotorua’s Union St.

“Residents would hear the deceased screaming in a frantic and distressed manner. Residents heard what sounded like the deceased being assaulted, hearing hitting sounds and Ferro-James crying,” the summary said.

“On one occasion the defendant was overheard yelling at the deceased: ‘Shut up, what are you crying for? Want me to give you something to cry about?’”

The summary revealed on the day Ferro-James died, Sio was frustrated at what he believed had been his son’s bad behaviour, so began a lengthy period of “discipline”.

“By this time, the deceased was already limping,” the summary said.

He had also been dressed in long pants and a hoodie, an attempt to try to conceal his bruising.

Ferro-James was then made to stand facing the wall with his hands held straight out in front of him.

“If the deceased fell towards the wall from exhaustion, placing his hands on the wall, the defendant Sio would hit or kick Ferro-James,” the summary said.

“Then the ‘punishment’ would begin again.”

This went on for seven hours.

During this time he was subjected to one kick of such force he “became short of breath and could no longer talk. His breathing became shallow.”

Sio claimed to police he then performed CPR on his son who began to breathe again.

“The defendant Sio told police that after this he was tired and so he put the deceased to bed. He then fell asleep next to Rawiri.”

Sio said he woke a few hours later to find his son cold and not breathing.

Sio’s phone was then used to try to locate a defibrillator at 10.29pm, after which Rawiri smoked a cigarette.

At 10.50pm they took Ferro-James to Rotorua Hospital.

“The defendants paused a couple of times in the entranceway of the hospital to have a conversation.”

Hospital staff were unable to resuscitate Ferro-James, who they found had multiple visible bruises all over his body, face, arms, legs, knuckles and soles of his feet.

He also had scratches to his face, a gouge mark on his face, and blood was visible on his lips and mouth area.

Sio told hospital staff the injuries were the result of “tripping over in the Redwoods”.

An autopsy conducted on February 10 last year found extensive injuries to Ferro-James, including internal bleeding, multiple blunt-force trauma impacts to the head and a punctured lung.

“The cumulative effect of that would have been similar to ‘bleeding out’ and at least would have contributed to his death.

“This injury was so great that the deceased would have been in significant pain.”

The pathologist’s opinion was that Ferro-James had suffered “a sustained and severe beating”.

Sio told police that he had been “trying hard not to hit the deceased, however he did slap him on his backside to ‘bring him into his place’”.

“I did what happened to him, I did all of it,” Sio said.

“I know I should not have done it, know it’s wrong. I can’t control myself when I get to that bit.”

Sio also said he was “not the parent of the year”.

Rawiri is set to be sentenced on August 26 on charges of ill-treatment of a child and failure to protect.