Court errupt as verdict heard

queensland 1:36pm June 5, 2017 Court erupts at child killer's sentence AAP By AAP Hemi Goodwin-Burke died of internal injuries in 2015. (MyCause) FTBA The family of slain Queensland toddler Hemi Goodwin-Burke erupted in court as his killer was told he could walk from prison in under two years. Matthew James Ireland cried in the dock of the Mackay Supreme Court on Monday as he was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for manslaughter. But the child's family screamed out as the 31-year-old was handed a parole eligibility date of March 2019. "You're a f***ing murderer," a man shouted from the public gallery. Ireland has been in custody since the time of the incident, meaning he will have served four years of his sentence when he is eligible for release. The court heard Ireland drunkenly beat 18-month-old Hemi over a two-hour period while babysitting him in March 2015. The infant's body was covered in 78 separate bruises from being kicked and punched repeatedly. Ireland told police Hemi hit his head on the side of the bathtub after he violently jerked the child's leg out from under him. He originally lied to investigators that Hemi had suffered a seizure and tried to blame the injuries on the boy's three-year-old sister. Hemi's mother Kerri-Ann Goodwin wept in court as she apologised for letting her son's killer into their lives. She had been in Brisbane receiving medical treatment for a back injury and trusted Ireland to take care of her children. "I let this person into our home, a place that should have been a safe haven," Ms Goodwin said. "I trusted him, I thought he was a friend. I'm sorry Hemi." Hemi's family had planned to wear T-shirts bearing the toddler's face during the sentencing but were ordered by Justice Duncan McMeekin not to bring them into the court. Outside Ms Goodwin and father Shane Burke said they would be seeking to appeal to get justice for their son.