Benjamin Joseph Swann: Accused baby murderer to stand trial over boy's death

An accused baby murderer allegedly told the boy’s mother she should take hold of the crying infant before he killed him.

The mother told Melbourne Magistrates Court that Benjamin Joseph Swann, 30, made the comments about her son at her Werribee home on January 19, 2024.

Swann has been committed to stand trial in the Victorian Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to the boy’s murder.

Swann had gone to the little boy’s bedroom after they heard his cries on the baby monitor about 3am, his ex-partner said in her evidence on Tuesday.

The woman turned off the monitor’s sound to try to sleep but heard a bang and then no response when she asked what happened.

The woman claimed Swann then entered the bedroom carrying her son and said “take this f****** baby before I kill him”.

She told the court she held onto the boy until Swann returned with a bottle, with the child appearing normal until she passed him back over to be fed.

The woman said she then noticed the boy was wheezing and his colour had changed so she told Swann they needed to call an ambulance.

She claimed he told her not to call triple zero straight away but she did and Swann performed CPR on the baby until paramedics arrived.

The little boy was taken to Werribee Mercy Hospital, with a pediatric registrar previously telling the court he was struggling to breathe, cold to the touch and had small bleeds in his eyes.

He was ultimately transferred to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne where his brain injuries were determined to be non-survivable.

The woman did not tell detectives about the bang and Swann’s alleged comments when she signed her first police statement on January 19.

When asked if she only disclosed the allegations once police believed the death was intentional, she said yes.

“Before that, I had not thought that someone I was in love with and wanted to be (my son’s) father could do something so horrendous,” she told the court.

“It was not something that I wanted to say to anyone lightly.”

The woman also claimed Swann had previously said “horrible things like that” to her.

The court was previously told police attended the mother’s home earlier in January 2024 over claims Swann had choked her until she lost consciousness.

Swann denies the family violence allegations.

Before the parties could make submissions, Magistrate Abigail Burchill determined there was sufficient evidence for the case to go to trial in the Supreme Court.

Swann formally entered pleas of not guilty to the charges of murder and child homicide.

He will face a directions hearing in the Supreme Court on March 19.

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