Baby murdered by Vic heroin addict

A Melbourne heroin addict who claimed he loved his girlfriend's son like he was his own has been found guilty of the baby's murder.

Police tape restricts access to a street in Sydney

A Melbourne heroin addict has been found guilty of murdering his girlfriend's infant son. (AAP)

A Melbourne heroin addict who claimed he dropped his girlfriend's baby after slipping in the bathroom has been found guilty of the child's murder.

Paul Ta-Vuong, 31, accepted responsibility for the death of 12-month-old Silas Leithhead but denied the killing was deliberate.

A jury on Friday found Ta-Vuong guilty of murder.

The Victorian Supreme Court heard Silas died of blunt-force trauma in Richmond last year and was found with bruises all over his body.

Ta-Vuong's defence told the trial he had slipped with Silas while the child's mother, Kate Leithhead, was out buying drugs and it was not an intentional, violent act.

However, prosecutors said Silas's killing was an act of revenge because Ta-Vuong thought Ms Leithhead was sleeping with their drug dealer.

The court heard that while in custody, Ta-Vuong told two other prisoners he decided to "play rough" with Silas because Ms Leithhead was taking too long to buy drugs.

Ta-Vuong told the prisoners he thought Ms Leithhead had been "f***ing around" with their drug dealer, and then showed them how he repeatedly dropped Silas, prosecutors told the court.

Ta-Vuong, of Burwood, had told the court he loved the child like a father.

He will return to court for a plea hearing before Justice Karin Emerton on October 13.


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