A man who denies fatally bashing his partner's toddler said the boy fell from his bed and became wedged against a wardrobe, his Adelaide retrial has been told.
But prosecutor Emily Telfer said the toddler's extensive injuries could not be explained by a household accident or fall.
She was opening the South Australian Supreme Court retrial of Brock Michael Powell, 25, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering two-year-old BJ Williams on January 13, 2012.
At an earlier judge-alone trial, Powell was found guilty of the murder but won an appeal and is now facing a retrial before another judge.
The Appeal Court had found the first judge failed to make adequate findings on the critical issue of the opportunity BJ's mother, Latara Lee Hunt, had to inflict the fatal injuries.
In the courtroom are the wardrobe and the bed, which were originally in the Adelaide granny flat Powell shared with Ms Hunt.
Ms Telfer on Tuesday said BJ, who was covered in bruises including in his genital area, suffered extensive brain injuries which the crown contended resulted from a "deliberate and sustained attack".
Medical experts would testify the injuries were caused by at least eight separate impacts.
"This accused told nursing staff he found BJ wedged in the space between BJ's bed and a wardrobe," she said.
"He said he pulled him out of that position and found him to be limp and unresponsive."
But Ms Telfer said the prosecution contended BJ had been beaten by Powell and it would not have been possible for the toddler to have become wedged in the way described by him.
She also alleged Powell was the only person who had the opportunity to inflict the injuries.
Powell's lawyer, Marie Shaw QC, said evidence would show Powell had a very good relationship with BJ.
She also said there was clearly a conflict between Ms Hunt and her client about events on January 13.
The trial is continuing.
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