A man charged with the murder of his stepson after subjecting him to a regime of cruel abuse told paramedics that the three-year-old boy "throws a lot of tantrums" and "he self mutilates", a court has heard.
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The boy's mother and stepfather, who can not be named for legal reasons, are accused of killing the boy after continuously abusing him when he went to live with them in their home in central western NSW.
The pair have admitted to mistreating the boy but have pleaded not guilty to his murder, claiming the injuries that caused him to go into cardiac arrest occurred when he tripped over a dog leash while on a family trip to a park on August 3, 2014.
The boy died three days later in hospital, with an autopsy detecting multiple blunt force trauma injuries on his body, scabs on his face and serious injuries to his spine.
The Crown's case is that the pair fabricated a story to explain what happened to the boy.
In the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday, paramedics who tried to save the boy's life gave evidence that they noticed antiseptic cream smeared on sores on his face and chin, marks to both his temples, and a swelling bruise on his forehead.
Paramedic Annette Schneider told the court that when she first entered the boy's home his stepfather, who appeared calm and without obvious emotion, told her "we are weaning him off a high sugar diet".
"He throws a lot of tantrums. He rubs his head on the cot and bangs his head on the wall when he throws tantrums," the stepfather allegedly said.
"He self mutilates ... I clipped his fingers yesterday because he self mutilates."
The court has previously heard that the mother had told police she had thoughts of killing the boy and had said there was a part of her that hated him because he looked like his biological father.
For most of his short life the boy had lived with his grandparents in southern Sydney, but moved to Oberon to live with his mother and stepfather seven weeks before he died.
During that time, the court heard, the boy was beaten repeatedly with a wooden spoon and a ball was taped to his mouth and his hands bound behind his back.
He was put into a portable cooler filled with ice with the lid pressed down on top of him as he screamed and desperately tried to get out.
In the days before the boy died, his mother admitted she had rammed a cupboard door into his head because she was "so pissed off" and "just wanted to get some sleep".
The Crown's case is that the mother committed the act that killed the boy, but the stepfather was complicit in the murder.
The defence case is that the boy's death was the result of a tragic accident and the abuse the parents inflicted on the boy was not what caused the injuries that led to his death.
The court heard that the pair have maintained their explanation for what happened from the first call to emergency services and that they did not have time to conspire before they were separately interviewed by police.
Conflicting medical evidence about whether the boy tripping, falling backwards and hitting his head could have caused his death is expected to be presented during the trial.
The trial continues.
