A teenage stepmother who strangled her partner’s daughter months before delivering the fatal blow has been sentenced to five years and seven months in prison.
Jessica Lee Rose Mulford, now 19, was found guilty of manslaughter after 2-year-old Harlee-Rose Niven died from catastrophic internal injuries in April 2022. The Tauranga toddler suffered a split pancreas, a lacerated liver, and massive abdominal trauma—injuries so severe they would have left her unconscious within minutes.
Toddler found unresponsive, Mulford blamed ‘accidents’
Harlee-Rose was discovered blue and unresponsive in bed before being rushed to Waikato Hospital, where she later died.
The Crown argued Mulford had built up resentment over having to care for her partner’s daughter full-time and ultimately snapped, inflicting the brutal injuries. The defence, however, pointed the finger at Harlee-Rose’s father, Dylan Berry, who was home that morning. They suggested the toddler’s bruises could have come from prior accidents, including a fall from a “magic carpet ride.”
The jury didn’t buy it. They convicted Mulford of manslaughter and injuring with intent to injure for an earlier strangulation attack on Harlee-Rose five months before her death. However, they stopped short of a murder conviction.
Harlee-Rose’s mother: “She was bruised head to toe”
In court, a devastated Paige Niven, Harlee-Rose’s mother, described the moment she learned her daughter was gone.
“I let out the loudest scream. I cried. I wished nothing more than to bring her back. Her life had just begun.”
Seeing Harlee-Rose in her coffin was even worse.
“She no longer looked like my precious little girl. She was bruised head to toe, including two black eyes.”
The loss has left her with nightmares and flashbacks of her daughter being battered.
Judge: “The force must have been high”
Justice Neil Campbell acknowledged Mulford’s age—she was just 18 when she killed Harlee-Rose—but said that did not excuse the violence.
“The force required to kill her must have been high.”
He noted that while the exact mechanism of the fatal injury remains unknown, the trauma was consistent with stomping, kicking, or punching.
The Crown pushed for a seven to eight-year sentence, arguing Mulford’s prior strangulation of Harlee-Rose showed a pattern of abuse. Crown solicitor Rebecca Mann said Mulford still denied responsibility and should not receive a significant discount for rehabilitation prospects.
Mulford’s defence: “She was young and had no parenting experience”
Defence lawyer Rebekah Webby pleaded for a lighter sentence, citing Mulford’s youth, lack of parenting skills, and drug use.
She argued that Mulford had taken rehabilitation courses while on bail and had made progress in prison. Justice Campbell factored in a psychological report and issued a 20% sentence reduction, arriving at five years and seven months.
What happens next?
Mulford will be eligible for parole after serving half her sentence, meaning she could walk free in under three years.
Meanwhile, Harlee-Rose’s family is left grieving a bright, bubbly 2-year-old whose life was cut short.
The Paper 