A 10-month-old boy suffered multiple third-degree burns, broken bones and bruising all over his body before he died, a Perth murder trial has heard.
Mervyn Kenneth Douglas Bell is on trial in the West Australian Supreme Court accused of murdering and sexually assaulting a baby after taking the child from his mother in Broome in March 2012.
In her opening address on Monday, prosecutor Amanda Forrester said the baby's injuries were not sustained in a single event and could not have been an accident.
While the cause of death could not be ascertained, the baby had suffered a broken arm and leg, and third-degree burns on parts of his body, she said.
He also had severe bruising on his genitals and anus, the court heard.
"Quite literally, he had injuries from his head to his feet," Ms Forrester said.
She alleged that Bell abused the baby for about 15 hours before the lifeless boy was taken to a remote WA roadhouse.
Ms Forrester said it was possible the baby died from the impact of all his injuries, which would have caused a lot of pain and shock.
"He would have been unable to move except in great pain," she said.
Ms Forrester said it was also possible that another act had caused the baby to stop breathing, such as drowning, but Bell's explanation to police that the baby had fallen from a car and into the Fortescue River was "incapable of belief".
Bell's lawyer did not make an opening statement.
The baby's 28-year-old mother wept in court while she gave evidence.
She said her son had just started drinking from a bottle and had been teething, but was otherwise a healthy and happy child.
The mother also told the court that her son had a bandaged burn on his arm after a hair straightener fell on him but did not have any other injuries that she knew about.
The judge-alone trial before Justice John McKechnie continues.
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