Kevin and Tammy Goforth leaving court in Regina. Photo by Manfred Joehnck.
A forensic pathologist has outlined his findings into what caused a four-year-old girl to die and what injuries she suffered before her death.
Dr. Shaun Ladham is the final prosecution witness in the murder trial of a Regina couple accused of starving the girl to death and causing unlawful harm to her two-year-old sister.
Ladham says the official cause of death was lack of oxygen to the brain caused by heart failure. He listed severe malnutrition as the underlying factor.
Ladham testified the girl weighed 27 lbs. at death, 25 per cent less than she weighed two years earlier.
He also detailed numerous bruises and abrasions to the girls head, face, and body.
Tammy and Kevin Goforth were the legal guardians of the two sisters in August of 2012 when the girls were rushed to hospital. Both were described as skin and bones. The four-year-old died; the two-year-old recovered.
The Goforths are on trial for second-degree murder and causing bodily harm.
The defence is expected to begin its case tomorrow morning. During opening arguments last week, their lawyers told the jury they would be hearing from both Tammy and Kevin Goforth and would learn what was really going on in their home during the time they were looking after the girls.
The trial began January 18.