Mother pleads not guilty over bathtub death
A Melbourne media commentator will stand trial over the death of her daughter in a bathtub.
Fiori Giovanni, 36, pleaded not guilty to the child homicide of Illen Bellinger in Southbank in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday, May 10.
The mother was then committed to stand trial in Victoria’s Supreme Court.
The court was told previously that she had been accused of negligence amounting to manslaughter after allegedly leaving her baby Illen unsupervised in the bath.
The court was also told Giovanni’s two-and-a-half year old son was in the bath at the same time but did not drown.
Giovanni, born in the African nation of Eritea, sought asylum in Europe before moving to Melbourne where she became a commentator, keynote speaker, and wrote a book about her experiences as a child soldier.
Giovanni is still on bail and will appear in the Supreme Court on May 26 for a directions hearing.
Image Credit: 7NEWS