'I wanted evidence': Victim's father documented previous injuries leading up to son's death
Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing.
Riley Jolly detailed several injuries he observed on his son, Emerson Whitby, prior to the 18-month-old’s death, during testimony at Court of King’s Bench in Regina on Thursday.
Chelsea Whitby, Emerson’s mother, is standing trial for second-degree murder in her son’s death. He died from blunt force trauma to the head on June 10, 2020.
The Crown’s evidence points to a series of injuries that Emerson sustained while in his mother’s care in the months leading up to his death.
Whitby, 27, and Jolly, 29, ended their relationship before Emerson was born and were not together at the time of his death. The parents had an informal custody agreement. Emerson spent one or two days a week and every other weekend with his dad, in line with Jolly’s work schedule.
Jolly first noticed unexplained bruises on his son’s ribs in mid-April, he testified, which is when he began documenting the injuries through photographs.
“If bruises were to persist, I wanted evidence just in case,” Jolly testified.
In the following weeks, Jolly observed bruises on Emerson’s ear, cheek and eye, as well as a bald spot on the top of his head.
Whitby offered explanations for some injuries, but not for others, Jolly testified. However, Whitby typically notified Jolly of Emerson’s injuries when they happened.
May 26, 2020, was the tipping point for Jolly. He testified to picking up his son from Whitby that afternoon when he noticed Emerson had two black eyes.
“His eyes were very, very swollen,” Jolly said.
“She [Whitby] said that he [Emerson] had received them from falling out of the crib.”
Jolly took his son to the doctor, who recommended they go to the ER if his eyes get worse. That night Jolly wanted to take Emerson to the hospital, but Whitby refused.
The next day, Jolly filed a report with social services and submitted six photos he had taken of Emerson’s injuries over the previous six weeks.
As a result, social services placed Emerson in the care of Whitby’s mother for one week. After that, the boy went back into Whitby’s custody. However, she had to check in with her mother daily.
Jolly looked after his son on June 9, the day before he died.
Nothing about his son’s behaviour struck him as odd that day, he testified. Emerson was healing from his black eyes and “was acting more himself,” Jolly told the court.
Jolly returned Emerson to Whitby’s home that night. Within a couple minutes of being there, the toddler vomited up his supper. Jolly helped clean up the floor before he left.
When he saw his son the next day, Emerson was unresponsive in hospital. He had new bruises above his eye and on his forehead, Jolly said.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
During cross-examination, Jolly told the court the custody agreement with Whitby had been going well in the months leading up to Emerson’s death.
There were no red flags when it came to Whitby’s parenting except for one incident involving a pillow in early 2020, Jolly said.
Whitby shoved Emerson’s face into a couch pillow and held him there for four to five seconds, Jolly testified, after she told him the challenges she had with putting the boy to sleep.
Jolly said Emerson could be considered an energetic, quick “dare-devil” kid. However, he admitted his behavior changed slightly the afternoon before his death.
Jolly told court Emerson seemed tired and napped longer than usual. He agreed it was “unusual” and “alarming” when Emerson puked at home.
“He could have gotten sick,” Jolly said.
Defence lawyer Darren Kraushaar argued Whitby was forthcoming with Emerson’s injuries and would give Jolly an explanation for his bruises when she had one. Jolly agreed.
Crown witnesses are expected to continue testifying on Friday.
The trial is scheduled until April 14.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6903244.1716897063!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
BREAKING Scotiabank suffers direct deposit outage on pay day
Scotiabank has acknowledged technical difficulties affecting direct deposits as clients report missed payments Friday morning. On Friday morning, the bank's client services phone line was playing an automated message assuring customers that work was underway to rectify the outage.
Canada Soccer head investigating 'systemic ethical shortcoming' amid spying scandal
Canada Soccer chief executive officer Kevin Blue said he was investigating a potential 'systemic ethical shortcoming' within the program but has not considered pulling the women's soccer team from the Paris Olympics due to a drone spying scandal.
Suspected train sabotage, bad weather dampen spirits ahead of Paris opening ceremony
The Paris Olympics are getting off to a rough start, with suspected acts of sabotage targeting France's flagship high-speed rail network.
Elon Musk's estranged daughter calls out his 'entirely fake' claims about her childhood
Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk's estranged daughter, publicly refuted several recent anti-trans statements her Tesla CEO and X owner father has made about her.
'She led it the whole way': 18-year-old B.C. woman leads hikers to safety in Jasper National Park
As fire threatened people in Jasper National Park, Colleen Knull sprung into action.
'Catastrophic' situation 'cannot continue': Open letter from Trudeau, other PMs calling for Gaza ceasefire
Prime ministers of Canada, New Zealand and Australia released a letter renewing calls for an “urgent ceasefire” in Gaza on Friday morning.
Arson attacks cause chaos before start of Olympics in Paris, thwarting athletes' travel
Arsonists attacked the French high-speed rail network early Friday, paralyzing travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe for some 800,000 people, including Olympic athletes heading to the grand opening ceremony of the Games in the evening.
Saskatchewan First Nation lifts 17-year long water advisory
After 17 years, residents of Star Blanket Cree Nation can breathe a sigh of relief when turning on their taps.
Latest updates on wildfires in Jasper National Park: Rain, cooler weather limiting spread
Cool and wet weather is making a difference in Jasper National Park.