UpdatedHannah BartlettOpen Justice reporter - Tauranga·NZ Herald·10 Aug, 2026 05:10 AM6 mins to readSadie-Leigh Gardner was taken to Auckland's Starship Hospital after an incident on March 27, 2019. Her death was the subject of two murder trials, and is now at the centre of a coroner's inquest, held in the Tauranga District Court.
Warning: This story deals with the death of a child and may be distressing.Sadie-Leigh Gardner was only 17 months old when she died – but she “already had such a big personality”.“She was cheeky, clingy, and incredibly affectionate,” her mum recalled.
“She loved her people and wanted to
