REGINA – The jury learned more about the extent of the four-year-old victim’s injuries as the Crown called its final witness Wednesday in the Goforth murder trial.
Tammy and Kevin Goforth are facing Second Degree Murder charges in the death of a 4-year-old girl.
They are also accused abusing her two-year-old sister, while the pair were in their care in August of 2012.
Saskatchewan’s chief forensic pathologist, Dr. Shaun Ladham, took the stand Wednesday morning.
Dr. Ladham’s performed the autopsy on the victim and is considered an expert on cause of injuries.
The forensic pathologist determined the four-year-old died from a brain injury stemming from cardiac arrest, secondary to malnutrition and dehydration. He also went through surface injuries, including bruises, scabs and scarring on her face and head.
During his testimony, Dr. Ladham said you can’t put a date or time on trauma, as is often portrayed in TV shows. “We just can’t do that in real life,” he said, but added he could give a range.
Dr. Ladham said there was skin loss on the upper shoulders, which is uncommon. He said it could be caused by pressure, if something was binding the skin.
He also said the girl’s skin tore when medical stickers were removed, because the skin can become brittle and easy to rip due to malnutrition.
Dr. Ladham testified that tape residue found near the girl’s wrists suggested they were bound over a long period of time, creating dark bruising that wrapped horizontally.
The defence challenged the doctor, suggesting tape could have been used to keep something like socks over the girl’s hands.
Dr. Ladgam also suggested the victim’s head was bent down and held tightly against her body to create bruising on the chin and upper chest, saying it would take time to do so, adding she’d have to be “in a position bound or some area confined forcing her to turn that way.”
The witness also testified scarring and ulcers on the girl’s lower back were a result of pressure over weeks or even months. He said there wasn’t enough tissue for padding between the skin and bone, which is a result of malnutrition.
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.
The defence had the doctor clarify that malnutrition doesn’t necessarily mean not eating, but could mean the body isn’t absorbing food properly.
Dr. Ladham also testified some scars could be anywhere from eight weeks to 10 years old.
Dr. Ladham is the crown’s 16th and final witness in the scheduled three week trial.
The girls can’t be identified because of a publication ban.
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