'I kissed him on the forehead four times': Grandfather testifies in trial of Regina mother accused of killing son
Warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing
Emerson Whitby was a busy, inquisitive toddler who was always moving around.
That’s how his grandfather Travis Jolly described the 18-month-old boy as he detailed the last time he saw his grandson alive during trial at the Court of King’s Bench on Tuesday.
“I kissed him on the forehead four times and I told him that his grandpa loved him so much,” Jolly testified about his final farewell with Emerson. “That was the last time I saw my grandson alive.”
Chelsea Whitby, Emerson’s mother, is on trial for second-degree murder in her son’s death. He died from blunt force trauma to the head on June 10, 2020.
Whitby, 27, and Emerson’s father were not in a relationship at the time of his death. However, they did have an informal custody agreement. Emerson spent one day a week and every other weekend with his dad and grandparents.
The last time his paternal grandparents saw Emerson alive was June 9, 2020. Jolly told court the boy did not get hurt that day in their care. However, Emerson sustained an injury while in his mother’s care, a few weeks before his death that resulted in two dark bruises around his eyes.
Jolly told court the boy was noticeably docile and less active in the days following his injury.
Emerson appeared to be back to normal on June 9, besides the visible bruises around his eyes along with new bruises on his jawline, which Jolly was told were a result of the beaded lanyard that attached to the toddler’s soother.
“I was relieved that he was getting better,” Jolly told court. “He was the Emerson that I knew, the Emerson that gets into everything and the Emerson that makes noise.”
Emerson returned to his mother’s care the night of June 9. He died the next day.
Doctors told Whitby the injuries were not self-inflicted.
“I honestly don’t have an idea of how it happened,” Whitby told the coroner during an interview on the day her son died.
Autopsy photos show bruises on Emerson’s forehead, jawline, nose, chest and shoulders.
Jolly testified he never noticed the bruising on Emerson’s forehead the day before, but it was visible when he saw him in the hospital.
A Regina police officer who testified on Tuesday told court he overheard Whitby offer two different explanations for the bruises on Emerson’s face to two different family members while at the hospital.
Whitby told one person the bruises were a result of the paramedics performing CPR. She told another family member they were from his soother lanyard. The officer told court he found the inconsistencies odd.
According to witness testimony, when Whitby learned police obtained a search warrant for her house she asked officers, “Does that mean I’m going to jail for hurting my child?”
In court, the Crown played a video recording of Whitby’s interview with police two days after Emerson’s death. In the video, she breaks down crying and denies any fault.
“I didn’t hurt him. I didn’t hurt him,” she told police.
Emerson’s paternal grandmother and his father are expected to testify Wednesday as the trial enters its third day.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'