Jailed for killing baby

By Tania Martin
A FORMER Monbulk supermarket employee who has been jailed for eight years for killing his six-week-old son claimed he was suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Jackson D’Aloisio died in February last year after being punched in the chest and head and shaken by his father, Douglas.
Douglas D’Aloisio, 31, of Lilydale, told police that he didn’t want his son to die or to be injured and that it didn’t really cross his mind that he might injure his son by what he was doing.
The court heard that Mr D’Aloisio, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, had assaulted Jackson since he was three-weeks old, and that he would sometimes hit the baby when his wife was asleep.
On the day Jackson died, Mr D’Aloisio had returned home from working at Safeway in Monbulk to look after Jackson and his other son, while their mother was at the doctor.
Mr D’Aloisio told police that shortly after his wife left to go to the doctor, he heard his son ‘whinging’ and went to check on him.
The court heard that Mr D’Aloisio told police that Jackson was ‘carrying on’, and he then shook and punched the baby in the chest.
Later in the day, Mr D’Aloisio was drinking with a friend when he said he heard Jackson ‘whinging and carrying on’.
He told police that he tried giving Jackson his dummy but he spat it out and Mr D’Aloisio then hit the baby on the forehead several times. A post-mortem examination found that Jackson died from head injuries, but that he also had multiple fractured ribs, a damaged liver and spleen and a fractured leg.
The court heard that Mr D’Aloisio tried to resuscitate Jackson after his wife arrived home to find the baby was seriously ill.
Mr D’Aloisio was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, while in police custody, which was later confirmed by consultant psychiatrist, Dr Lester Walton, forensic psychologist Ian Joblin, and clinical psychologist Professor Michael Kyrios.
Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Eames sentenced Mr D’Aloisio to eight years’ imprisonment with a five-year minimum jail term.
Justice Eames said that the experts had agreed that his illness had compromised his ability to deal with emotional issues, such as a crying baby.
He said clinical psychologist Professor Michael Kyrios had diagnosed Mr D’Aloisio with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and depression.
Professor Kyrios told the court that there was a clear link between Mr D’Aloisio’s mental health problems and poor decision-making, low-coping capacity, and an intolerance for situations he could not control.
Justice Eames said despite heartfelt pleas from Mr D’Aloisio’s wife and family, a significant sentence of further imprisonment must be imposed, if the law was to truly acknowledge the tragedy of Jackson’s death.