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He admits he stood on the toddler’s stomach “in frustration” after he tripped over her as she played on the floor.

A Victorian man weighing 100kg stood on a toddler’s stomach “in frustration” after he tripped over her as she played on the floor, then lied about what happened after she died, reports 9 news.

The 22-year-old, whose name is suppressed, has pleaded guilty to child homicide over the three-year-old girl’s death in 2015.

An autopsy found the girl died of blunt force trauma to the abdomen and had a ruptured liver and bleeding in both kidneys, senior crown prosecutor Kerri Judd QC told the man’s plea hearing in the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday.

UPDATE 24 February

The family of three-year-old, Bella Lawrence, wept in a Melbourne court today as the killer was sentenced to a minimum jail term of six-and-a-half years.

Justice Jane Dixon sentenced Harley Woodford, to nine years and six months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of six-and-a-half years, reports 9 news.

Justice Dixon said immaturity, an inability to manage anger, and the stresses of work and parenting had contributed to the killing, but acknowledged Woodford was remorseful.

Speaking outside court, Bella’s father Jonathan Lawrence told reporters the day had been “disgusting”.

“Today’s sentencing will never be enough to put my family at peace of what has happened,” he read from a prepared statement on Friday.

“My daughter never made it to his minimum term… which makes me sick.

“We will never see her face again, never hear her voice again and never be able to tell her we love her again.”

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Image: Getty Images

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  • this makes me feel sick. That sentence is not good enough. what kind of help is he getting to make him a better person when he gets out? The fact that he would think that was an appropriate way to deal with a child is sickening.

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  • Seriously? What is wrong with people? If you can’t handle a little mess then don’t have kids! There is just no excuse for this sort of thing, it’s just sick!

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  • This just disgusts me, what a psycho!!!

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  • No child deserves this treatment. As I’ve said before, some people should never be allowed to have children.

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  • I’ve read more detail on this and it nearly made me physically sick. Jail, long time jail. May this poor little girl’s soul be at peace.

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  • Please, please, please lock him away and let him rot.

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  • Poor little tot..what pain she must have experienced. R.I.P. sweet angel.

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  • Honestly, most animals treat their youngsters better than that.
    I hope he is charged with murder, grievous body harm, child abuse etc.
    abuse > injuries > death. One bruised kidney alone can leave an adult in a critical condition almost immediately. This little angel didn’t stand a chance of anything apart from horrendous suffering.

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  • Okay, it’s annoying when you trip over a Kid or toys – but this is appalling.

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  • This is heartbreaking. To know this child was just playing and was killed for it. Whether he intended to kill her or not makes no difference. Why didn’t he just look where he was going. That poor little angel.

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  • Not only a lack of impulse control, also a lack of conscience !

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  • Complete lack of impulse control – inconvenienced so lash out and then have to deal with the consequences.

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  • He deserves a long jail sentence.

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  • poor little miss. Rest in peace little one

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