“Granby Girl” died of suffocation, the forensic pathologist who provided the results of her autopsy concluded. Criminal investigation The mother-in-law of a 7-year-old child accused of murder and forcible imprisonment.
The 38-year-old woman, who could not be identified by court order, has pleaded guilty. Is the crown principle The accused wrapped tape around the girl’s body on April 29, 2019. She died the next day.
Dr. Carolyn Tangue of the Forensic Science and Forensic Pathology Laboratory testified throughout the day Tuesday at the request of the Crown.
He explained to the 14 members of the jury that although he saw many small marks on the child’s body that he described as “sores” or “wounds”, they were all “small, not specific, and did not explain death”. ”.
Then she rejected many other things: the baby had no heart defect, no skull fracture, no brain hemorrhage or chronic illness.
In short, after his investigation, the pathologist, who had performed more than 2,200 autopsies in his life, concluded that there were no traumatic or toxic causes that could explain the girl’s death. Traces of drugs found in his blood corresponded to the “treatment dose” and the doctors’ recommendations.
After her physical examination, without a clear finding that could help determine the cause of her death, the pathologist explained that she had no choice but to turn to the “circumstances surrounding death”.
Thus he retained the information given to him: on April 29, 2019, the girl’s body was said to have been wrapped in adhesive tape, which was then inserted into her head, blocking her nose and mouth. .
Police and paramedics arrived at the Cronby family home in a hurry that morning and said they saw the molded sticky paper. Like a shell, Near the little girl who was on the floor of her bedroom. The son of the accused also testified that the child was wrapped in tape “Like mummy”.
“In the context given to me, I come to the conclusion that external suffocation is the cause of death.”
According to him, some deaths caused by suffocation have no trace on the body.
Dr. Tangwe denied that the girl had died of hyperthermia, which may have been caused by overheating of her body due to the sticky tape surrounding her. Cases like this have already been seen, for example, of children being left in a car during summer or sweat rituals. However, police and paramedics who testified at the mother-in-law’s inquest found that when they entered the child’s room, they found a “hot wall” compared to other parts of the house. In addition, according to them, the little girl was very hot and with wet skin.
According to the pathologist, the temperature leading to death was about 43 C, while about an hour later in the hospital, his temperature was measured at 34 C. You can’t lose 8 C in an hour, he judges.
Below is the growth chart for his age
The pathologist also touched on another topic as part of his testimony: he told the jury that the girl had been hit by her height: she weighed only 36 pounds (16.4 kg) and was 1.02 meters tall when she died. Below the growth chart for a child of his or her age.
“She’s so skinny,” she said on her face and hands. “His weight loss is remarkable.” Similar observations have already been made The first responders intervened in the family home The morning of the tragedy de Cronby. The judges were able to see rough photos of the girl taken by the police.
The doctor did not see anything in her medical file – no chronic illness – which explains her small size and weight.
Although she was very young at birth, she has notes in the file that until 2017 she had grown normally. Since then, the pathologist notes that she does not follow her growth schedule.
He has not yet made a connection between the findings on the girl’s size and the cause of her death.
His cross-examination will continue on Thursday.
