A two-month old baby girl from Canberra who died in 2012 suffered head and neck injuries that were most likely non-accidental, a Coroner has found.
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An inquest into the death of the infant, whose name has been suppressed, was halted two years ago when Coroner Bernadette Boss found there were reasonable grounds to believe an indictable offence had been committed by a person.
But the ACT Coroner's Court on Tuesday heard while the baby's mother and father had been interviewed by police, no-one would face criminal charges over her death.
In handing down her findings, Dr Boss said the baby died from head and neck injuries after she was dropped, fell or was thrown, possibly from a lounge, and landed on the floor.
She also found there may have been a shaking component to the injuries, which she said did not occur as the result of an accident.
Paramedics who were called to the family's home arrived to find the baby wasn't breathing and had no pulse about 5am on August 18, 2012.
She was taken to Canberra Hospital where she later died.
The inquest previously heard a medical expert gave evidence while some of the girl's injuries occurred during resuscitation, "the constellation of her injuries were due to inflicted trauma".
Although the precise mechanism of injury couldn't be determined at autopsy, the doctor noted the injuries were consistent with "a drop and impact".
A post-mortem examination of the baby's brain revealed she suffered a significant blunt force injury causing "a rapid acceleration and deceleration of her brain", the court was told.
The doctor who carried out the autopsy said the brain injuries required "forces in excess of normal handling of an infant" and were "highly suggestive of traumatic injury".
An intensive-care paramedic told the inquiry he noticed bruising on the underside of child's jaw and on the front of both shins as he fought to save her life. But the bruising was not present during a health check by nurses the previous day.
The court previously heard the girl spent much of her life in hospital after she was born prematurely in June 2012.
Following Dr Boss's decision to suspend the inquest and refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions in February 2014, the baby's mother and father had each denied to police they were responsible for the their daughter's deadly injuries.
The DPP informed the court last May no charges would be laid.
The court heard the office's decision had been partly based on an expert report which found the baby suffered a fatal, non-accidental injury, which was consistent with shaking the baby to generate some significant force within the head.
There may also have been direct trauma with a surface, the report stated, and the baby could have sustained the injuries when she was in the care of either her father or mother.
Dr Boss said despite "the best investigative efforts of police", there wasn't enough evidence to determine who had inflicted the baby's injuries.
"I consider that there is little likelihood that such evidence will become available to me in the near future.
"On that basis, noting that the DPP does not intend to lay charges in this matter, I will finalise this inquest."
Dr Boss said no other matters of public safety arose from the incident and made no recommendations. She thanked police for their cooperation.
"The death of a child is always a matter of significant concern and distress for all involved and my condolences go to the parents and family of [the baby] and all those who knew her in her short life," she said.
