WARNING: Some details in this story may be disturbing to readers.
REGINA – Tensions were very high in the courtroom as the Goforth murder trial entered its second week.
Kevin and Tammy Goforth have been charged with Second Degree Murder in the death of a four-year-old girl, who was in their care August of 2012.
They are also accused of abusing and neglecting the victim’s younger sister.
READ MORE: Doctor, nurse who helped treat victim testify in Goforth murder trial
The Crown’s only witness on Monday was Dr. Sharon Leibel, a family physician in Regina who was in charge of examining both girls in the hospital for suspected neglect and maltreatment in August 2012.
Dr. Leibel told the court that the four-year-old girl weighed around 10 kilograms, or 23 pounds, at the time.
The girl’s mother was visibly distraught and sobbing loudly in court as Dr. Leibel detailed the victim’s injuries, including scrapes, scars scabs and open wounds across the girl’s entire body.
“I’d never seen anything like it,” Dr. Leibel said while describing dead skin on the girl’s back.
Other injuries included purple and red marks, as well as bruising, on her wrists. Leibel said the explanation given was that mittens were taped to prevent the girl from scratching.
Dr. Leibel also examined the victim’s younger sister and detailed injuries over the two-year-old’s body, including dead rotting tissue on the girl’s ankles.
At one point, she described bruising on the girl’s face, which caused a clash between the Crown and the defence over Leibel’s description of the injuries versus her opinion of what may have caused them.
The defence also pointed out that Leibel had no prior medical history for the girls.
Last week, the jury learned the four-year-old girl was malnourished, dehydrated and suffering from renal failure when she arrived at the hospital on Aug. 1, 2012. They were also told she was in cardiac arrest and suffered brain damage.
Three days later, the victim was declared brain dead.
Court was also told last week that starting in 2009, the girls were in at least nine different placements before they were placed in the Goforths care in 2011.
There are still four more Crown witnesses to be called out of a total of 16 in the scheduled three week trial.
The girls can’t be identified because of a court order.
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