James Paul Turpin 2nd-degree murder trial wraps up day 4
The first doctor to treat Kennedy Corrigan in the emergency room testified Thursday it would be unusual for a two-year-old to experience such a massive brain injury from a bathtub fall.
Dr. Jane Findlater was testifying on Day 4 of James Paul Turpin's second-degree murder trial related to the 2004 death of the girl from Central Blissville.
"It would be very unusual for a two-year-old in a bathtub who just fell, to end up with, I think, so much of a brain injury," Findlater testified at the Court of Queen's Bench in Fredericton.
"This was a very severe, progressive, brain injury," she said. "I was concerned it was not going to have a very good outcome."
Turpin, 37, was charged last year with Kennedy's death 12 years ago after RCMP said new evidence came to light that will be made public during the trial.
Turpin was Kennedy's mother's boyfriend and the trial has heard Kennedy was in his care when she suffered the brain injury and was taken to the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton.
Witnesses have testified Turpin said the girl was injured when she fell and hit her head on the bathtub.
No skull fractures
However, despite "significant trauma" to her brain, Kennedy didn't have any visible skull fractures, another medical specialist testified Thursday.
Radiologist Dr. Heidi King testified the trauma shown in CT scans of Kennedy's brain was something likely to be seen if she had fallen down 25 stairs or was involved in a motor vehicle accident.
King testified Kennedy had no visible skull fractures. The girl's chest was x-rayed as well and everything was normal, King said.
Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Peter Corey, King said there was some swelling found and she said the injuries could all have been caused by one injury. However, the jury was cautioned that King is not qualified to determine if the injury was caused by one injury or not.
Kennedy suffered the injury at her home in Central Blissville in April 2004 and died several days later after being taken off life support at the IWK Hospital in Halifax after being transferred there from Fredericton. She never regained consciousness.
Afternoon testimony Thursday saw RCMP members who investigated the injury and subsequent death of Kennedy on the stand.
Sgt. Pierre Gervais, a constable in 2004, testified he applied for and received search warrants for the home in Central Blissville, which was first searched April 5, with a subsequent video taken April 9.
Images of the home, bathroom, bathtub, and other areas of the house were taken by police, as well as measurements.
It was during the second search of the home that the officers were informed Kennedy had passed away.
Justice Judy Clendening is presiding over the trial being heard by a seven-woman, five-man jury. The trial is expected to last 17 days.
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