A woman whose seven-year-old son was "brutally" murdered by his stepfather was today jailed for three years for failing to provide her son with the necessities of life.
Mary Joachim, 28, admitted the charge in November at the start of a depositions hearing in Nelson District Court.
Duwayne Toetu Taote Pailegutu died on July 2, eight days after a vicious and sustained attack by his stepfather Johnny Joachim at the family's home in Stoke, near Nelson.
Mary Joachim has been on bail at her family's South Auckland home since she was charged in relation to the boy's death.
The maximum penalty for failing to provide the necessities of life is seven years imprisonment.
Johnny Joachim, 37, who was found guilty of murder, was jailed for life in October, with an 18-year non-parole period.
During his sentencing, Justice Dobson told the court that from the day of that beating to Duwayne's death, Joachim stopped his wife from seeking any medical assistance for her son.
He had been angry with Duwayne for leaving a jumper at school and not showing respect to him.
He inflicted upon him a beating that left the boy semi-conscious, partly paralysed and struggling to breathe.
