'Why would I hurt my own son?': Regina manslaughter trial hears father's interview with police
It was a tearful start to the third day of Catlin Goodwill’s manslaughter trial.
The accused, along with some family members in the gallery, sat crying as court watched a video recording of Goodwill’s interview with police the day after he had been arrested and charged with manslaughter.
Goodwill, 33, is accused of causing the death of his three-month-old son in October 2017.
Nearly two years later, the father was arrested and charged in August 2019.
Regina Police Service SSgt. Pierre Beauchesne, who was one of the primary investigators in the case, testified at the trial on Wednesday. He led court through a recorded interview he conducted with Goodwill the day after his arrest.
The baby’s mother had left him home alone with Goodwill the day he died. Goodwill admitted to police that he was the only one who held the boy that day, even after the mother returned home.
“He was in my care and I was watching him,” Goodwill told police during the interview.
Autopsy results show the infant died from blunt force trauma to the head. An expert witness previously testified that the injury would have taken place a few hours before the death.
“There would be no other person in contact or who would have been able to be in contact with (the infant) to cause that death and it was not natural,” Beauchesne told Goodwill in the interview.
“A stranger didn’t just come into the house and do this.”
Beauchesne told court police operated on a couple of different theories during the investigation.
One theory was Goodwill hit the baby’s head on a swinging seat when the father placed his son back down after changing his diaper. Shaken Baby Syndrome was another theory.
One of the neuropathologists who consulted on the autopsy previously testified the infant’s injuries were consistent with Shaken Baby Syndrome. However, he said that could not be confirmed.
Beauchesne interviewed Goodwill for about 40 minutes. In that time, the father could not give an explanation for his son’s injuries.
“I didn’t do nothing to hurt him,” he said. “Why would I hurt my own kid? Why would I hurt my own son?”
During cross-examination, defence lawyer Bruce Campbell questioned why it took police nearly two years to lay charges against Goodwill.
Beauchesne told Campbell “death investigations sometimes take several months if not years.”
The investigator said he did not receive the final autopsy report until December 2018. He told court it then takes time to review the documents and information before making the decision to lay a charge.
The Crown called its final witness in the case Wednesday afternoon.
Dr. Juliet Soper is a paediatrician who works in the area of child maltreatment. Police asked for her expert opinion during their investigation.
During testimony, Soper agreed that the baby’s head trauma was likely caused by an acceleration and deceleration motion similar to shaking or whiplash received in a car crash.
She added that the brain bleed could have occurred without impact. However, the bruise found on the back of the infant’s skull suggests there was some sort of impact to the boy’s head.
“Any bruising of a baby this age raises a question of how it happened,” Soper told court, adding the infant could not have caused these injuries on its own.
According to Soper, children with fatal head injuries often show symptoms immediately, including loss of consciousness.
“Any injury that results in the child dying is extremely significant. It’s the worst outcome,” Soper said.
“If you’ve suffered a fatal brain injury it would be obvious to the people looking after you.”
Soper told court she could not conclusively determine a timeline or cause of injury based on the information she had reviewed.
The defence is expected to call a neuropathologist as its only expert witness Thursday afternoon.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
King Charles' cancer treatment progressing well, says Buckingham Palace
King Charles III’s doctors are 'sufficiently pleased' with his cancer treatment and he is expected to return to public-facing duties, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Regina police officer injured after being accidentally shot by fellow officer's gun
An investigation is underway after a Regina police officer was accidentally shot by a fellow officer’s gun during the search of a house early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
DEVELOPING Bird flu outbreaks: WHO weighs in on public health risk
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
Taylor Swift dons Montreal designer's dress in 'Fortnight' video
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.
From faulty kids' cribs to flammable kids' bathrobes, here are the recalls of the week
Health Canada issued recalls for various items this week, including kids’ bathrobes, cribs and henna cones.
Island near Mull of Kintyre for sale for US$3.1 million
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.