Third trial for alleged child-killer after hung juries

Cecil Patrick Kennedy will face a third trial over a toddler's death in 2005. (Steven Markham/AAP PHOTOS)

The man who allegedly killed toddler Jordan Thompson nearly two decades ago is expected to face a third trial after two different juries failed to reach a verdict.

The 21-month-old was found unresponsive while in the care of Cecil Patrick Kennedy and rushed to Singleton Hospital, in the NSW Hunter region, where he died in 2005.

Kennedy was charged with manslaughter on September 27, 2021 over allegations he gave the toddler antidepressant medication, leading to the child's death.

The first trial for the 52-year-old concluded in September 2023 with a hung jury, followed by another that ended with the same outcome a year later.

Kennedy's case returned to Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Friday, when prosecutors said they would be pushing ahead with a third trial.

A jury was previously told that Jordan was crying when Kennedy - who was in a relationship with the toddler's mother - took him into his bedroom the morning before he died.

After that the boy was seen to be dozy and unsteady on his feet, and he vomited before his mother Bernice Swales put him to bed and left to go shopping.

When she returned, she found Kennedy performing CPR on her son, who was naked and unresponsive.

Toxicology analysis found traces of amitriptyline, an antidepressant for which Kennedy had a prescription, prosecutors said.

Kennedy initially told Ms Swales her son had fallen into the bath but later told police he briefly left him unattended before returning to find him face-down in the water, the court heard previously.

The matter is listed for mention on November 29, however a trial date has not been set.

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