Woman to stand trial over baby bath death

A Melbourne media commentator is set to stand trial over the death of her baby daughter in a bathtub.

Fiori Giovanni pleaded not guilty in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday to the child homicide of Illen Bellinger at Southbank in July 2020.

The 36-year-old mother was committed to stand trial in Victoria’s Supreme Court.

She was accused of negligence amounting to manslaughter after allegedly leaving Illen unsupervised in the bath, the court was previously told.

It was also told Giovanni’s two-and-a-half-year-old son was in the bath at the time but did not drown.

Giovanni was born in African nation of Eritrea and sought asylum in Europe before moving to Melbourne.

She became a commentator, keynote speaker and wrote a book about her experiences as a child soldier.

Giovanni remains on bail and is due to appear in the Supreme Court on May 26 for a directions hearing.