Christian hip-hop music producer Kodi Maybir told four different versions of how a seven-year-old boy died in his music studio in Oatley, in Sydney's south, in May 2013.
In electronically recorded interviews with police, Maybir firstly claimed the boy fell off a pogo stick.
In a "walk through" interview on May 29, 2013 at the Oatley studio, Maybir said the boy often played on a pogo stick, scooter and skateboard.
However, he admitted he couldn't be sure of what the boy was doing immediately before he injured his head.
Detective Sergeant Trent Power asked Maybir, "Why do you connect the pogo stick to what's happened to [the boy]".
"Cos pretty much that's all I know ... That's the information I have received," Maybir said.
"So, there's nothing specific that points you to the pogo stick, apart from the fact that he plays regularly on his pogo stick," Sergeant Power asked.
"No," Maybir replied.
In an interview on November 20, 2013, following his arrest, Maybir admitted inventing the pogo stick story.
He told Sergeant Power that he said to the boy's mother, Kayla James: "Just say it was the pogo stick" because he was "freaked out".
"I freaked out 'cause that's after tryin' to resuscitate him and all that. I've run out, I've grabbed the drugs, I've grabbed the bong, I've grabbed the doona. I don't know, honestly I don't know why I grabbed the doona. I just freaked out like a chook with his head cut off."
Later in that interview, he claimed the boy fell after standing on a coffee tin. He explained that standing on a coffee tin that was balancing on a metal microphone box was part of a religious-inspired regime of "discipline" and "punishment" he introduced after he commenced his relationship with James.
Sergeant Power then told Maybir that a post-mortem found the boy had injuries to his temples. Maybir varied his story again, this time to claim the boy fell off not once, but twice.
He claimed the boy fell off the tin and said he was dizzy. However Maybir forced him back on the tin, telling him to "get back on, stop faking". The boy then fell a second time.
Questioned why he hadn't mentioned the two falls before, Maybir said: "Cause it's slack. I've wanted to say it all for so long, and then to hear the way you're putting it across is, it's slack that I put him up there."
Maybir said he hadn't told the truth because he was "scared" but maintained "I didn't murder anyone though".
However, when his case came to trial, Maybir told a fourth version. This time, he said he and the boy were play wrestling and the boy accidentally fell on the floor.
"The deceased and Mr Maybir both loved wrestling," his barrister, Grant Brady, SC, said.
"One of the things that Mr Maybir liked to do was pick [the child] up and throw him on to the couch or a bed.
"That morning that was exactly what he was doing. He picked him up and threw him on to the couch. But [the boy] grabbed him by the shirt and, rather than hitting the couch, he hit the floor."
Neither Maybir nor James sought medical attention until about 24 hours later, despite the boy being largely unresponsive following his fall. An autopsy showed he had suffered severe blunt force trauma to the back and front of his head, causing multiple subdural haemorrhages as well as the brain swelling that ultimately resulted in his death.
Last week a NSW Supreme Court jury appeared to reject the "play wrestling" scenario, finding Maybir guilty of murder.
James previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter by gross criminal negligence and was sentenced to at least 10 years' jail. Maybir pleaded guilty to six other charges, including assault and using the boy to produce child abuse material. He will face a sentencing hearing next year.
