Court told of tot's life of fear

Little JJ Lawrence died on a ripped and tatty bed with no mattress, in immense pain and allegedly at the hands of a man who terrified him. The 2-year-old had been struck so hard in the tummy that his liver and pancreas were forced into his spine and split in half. It has also been revealed that the toddler had either been given cannabis or inhaled it shortly before his death. JJ, whose full name is James Joseph Ruhe Lawrence, died last November at an Orakei house where he lived with his mother Josephine Lawrence and her partner Joel Loffley, 29. Police charged Loffley with murder in December and he went on trial in the High Court at Auckland yesterday. Details of the horrific injuries inflicted on JJ the day he died - and earlier alleged assaults while he was in Loffley's care including two broken arms - were revealed for the first time in court before Justice Patrick Keane.

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