The father of the Kahui twins who died after suffering severe head injuries has told an inquest he was freaked out on the night one of the babies stopped breathing.
Three-month-old boys Chris and Cru Kahui died after being admitted to a children's hospital in Auckland in June 2006.
Their father, Chris Kahui, was acquitted of their murder following a High Court trial in 2008.
It is the first time he has publicly spoken about the events leading up to the boys' deaths after choosing not to give evidence at the trial.
In a statement read to the Auckland court by his lawyer Christopher Wilkinson-Smith on Thursday, Mr Kahui said he assumed his former partner and mother of the twins, Macsyna King, had inflicted the fatal injuries.
Mr Kahui said never shook, hit or hurt the twins in any way and did not see anyone else harm them.
Mr Kahui himself described the events of the night Cru Kahui stopped breathing on 12 June 2006, saying that the twins had missed their regular feeding, but when he checked on them they appeared to be asleep.
However, later that night, Cru stopped breathing and his lips went purple. Mr Kahui told the inquest he was freaked out and scared but managed to carry out CPR which revived the baby.
On Wednesday, Ms King told the inquest she was at her sister's house on 12 June when she first learned that the boy had breathing problems. However, she did not return to her home in Mangere until the next morning.
The inquest was told that after the twins were hospitalised, Mr Kahui wanted to hand himself in to "end everybody's hurt".
His lawyer Christopher Wilkinson-Smith read out his client's brief of evidence, in which Chris Kahui stated his other young son, Shane, was taken into foster care after the twins were admitted to Starship hospital.
In his statement, Mr Kahui said Child, Youth and Family had told him that Shane could not come home until somebody owned up for hurting the twins. He told the inquest on Thursday he thought he could just take the blame to get Shane home.
Death threats sent to parents, inquest told
Earlier, the inquest was told that the parents of the twins received death threats following the deaths.
Ms King continued giving evidence on Thursday and told the inquest she knew it was a serious situation immediately after the twins were admitted to hospital and feared for her safety.
She says death threats were posted to herself and Mr Kahui, and the letterbox of Mr Kahui's father was stuffed full with them.
Ms King said pressure built up between the couple during this time, which led to their eventual split.
