THE mother of a young girl who starved to death and was a prisoner in her own home has been found guilty today of murder.

The same jury found the child's father guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter after a week of deliberations.

The 47-year-old man and his 35-year-old wife, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had both pleaded not guilty to murdering the child at their Hawks Nest home on November 3, 2007.

The autistic girl weighed just 9kg at the time of her death and had the bone development of a five-year-old.

Several doctors testified she suffered the most severe case of malnutrition they had ever seen, with one expert saying the child's head resembled a skull wrapped in skin.

Her condition was likened to that of Holocaust victims, and it was the crown's case that she died as the result of long-lasting starvation and neglect.

During the trial, the parents admitted lying to police when they claimed she was happy and well the night before her death, with the jury told she would have been "semi-conscious to comatose'' for days.

The child's father blamed the mother for the death, saying she was solely responsible for the seven-year-old's care.

The mother told the jury the thought her daughter may die "never entered my head''.