A husband and wife face an agonising wait before learning if they face trial on charges of killing their 10-month-old baby seven years ago.

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner said he would make a decision in January on the manslaughter case of Renee Erma Daniels, 37, and Philip Paul Daniels, 49.

The couple, of Verdmont Valley View, Smith?s, are charged with unlawfully killing their daughter, Samira Marye Daniels, in November 1998.

After six hours of legal argument, spanning two afternoon Magistrates? Court sessions this week, Mr. Warner yesterday adjourned the case.

He said he would make a written judgment on January 17, 2006, on whether it should go to a higher court.

Defence lawyer Richard Hector has argued the charges against his clients should be dropped, and told the court the delay in charging both defendants and bringing the case to court was an abuse of court process.

Crown counsel Paula Tyndale has argued that the prosecution should continue and the delay would not prejudice any trial.

In May, a coroner ruled that baby Samira was unlawfully killed as a result of being violently shaken. He could not rule on whether anyone was responsible.