HALIFAX - The denials of a Halifax man charged in the death of his infant daughter don't stand up against the testimony of the girl's mother who alleged he abused the child, the Crown argued Wednesday in closing arguments.

Ashiqur Rahman, 26, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and aggravated assault in the July 2009 death of seven-week-old Aurora Breakthrough.

"On the whole, I would characterize his evidence as evasive, argumentative, self-centred, arrogant and cold," Crown lawyer Denise Smith told the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

Smith said the case hangs on Rahman's credibility versus that of the 25-year-old mother, Jane Gomes, who has testified she saw her ex-boyfriend slap and shake the baby in the weeks before Aurora died.

Smith said Gomes was made some poor choices in failing to take the baby away after witnessing the abuse. But she said Gomes was telling the truth about Rahman's tendency to lose control and harm Aurora.

The defence has argued that Gomes's testimony was motivated by a desire to shift blame away from herself, and came only after concluding a plea bargain with the Crown.

Gomes has received a conditional discharge with six months probation for failing to provide the necessities of life for Aurora.

But Smith said the defence's argument doesn't add up.

"If the defence position is that Jane Gomes chose to implicate Ashiqur Rahman to cover her own heinous acts ... then she did a pretty mild job of it," said Smith.

She cited letters that Gomes wrote to Rahman's parents while she was in jail in which she says she loves Aurora and still loves Rahman.

Smith said Gomes was a naive, young woman who was "swept off her feet" and didn't want to believe her first lover had harmed their child.

She said it was only when an autopsy clearly showed Aurora suffered broken bones and brain trauma that Gomes wrote to Rahman's parents to express her anger with Rahman.

"Jane Gomes has always said what she knows," Smith said. "No more and no less."

In contrast, Rahman refused to answer questions in a straightforward manner when he took the stand in his own defence, Smith said.

At times he shifted his testimony away from the videotaped statements he gave police, especially when his comments to the investigators appeared to implicate him in Aurora's death, she argued.

She cited one occasion when Rahman told prosecutor Mark Heerema that he never held the baby's legs during a diaper change.

"Yet in his police interview he clearly stated that he held her legs ... going so far as to demonstrate this for the officer," said Smith.

Smith said Rahman lacked an emotional attachment to Aurora, adding that he failed to buy supplies before her birth and remained focused on his small business as Gomes looked after the child.

"His testimony was devoid of emotion when discussing her birth, life or death," Smith said.

Aurora died July 27, 2009, in the arms of a nurse who cared for her while her parents were in jail.

Judge Felix Cacchione said he plans to give his verdict on June 22, though he added he may deliver a decision sooner.