REGINA — A forensic pathologist says a four-year-old girl died of heart failure, but an underlying factor was starvation.
Dr. Shaun Ladham is the final prosecution witness in the trial of a Regina couple charged with second-degree murder in the girl's death.
Tammy and Kevin Goforth are also charged with causing bodily harm to her two-year-old sister, who has since recovered.
Ladham testified the older girl weighed 27 pounds when she died in hospital, 25 per cent lighter than what she weighed two years earlier.
He also detailed numerous bruises and abrasions to the girl's head, face, and body.
The Goforths were the legal guardians of both children when the girls were rushed to hospital in August 2012.
On Tuesday, a 14-year-old boy testified he saw a four-year-old girl's hands being taped to a wall at the Goforths' home.
The boy's testimony drew audible gasps and sobs from relatives of the child who were sitting at the back of the courtroom.
The boy said when he was visiting the Goforths home in the summer of 2011, both girls were locked in their room for the entire weekend.
He says he never saw them eat.
The defence is expected to begin its case Thursday morning.
