TORONTO — A pathologist testifying at the trial of an Ontario woman accused of killing her severely disabled daughter is suggesting the child could have suffered a seizure-related death.
Dr. Michael Shkrum — the first witness called by Cindy Ali's defence lawyer — prepared a report that reviewed the autopsy conducted on the 16-year-old girl, as well as her medical records.
He says Ali's daughter, who had cerebral palsy and couldn't walk, talk or feed herself, could have stopped breathing and suffered a cardiac arrest as a result of seizures.
Ali has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of her daughter Cynara.
The teen died in a Toronto hospital in February 2011, two days after emergency personnel responding to a 911 call about a home invasion found her without vital signs.
Over much of the past month, jurors have heard evidence called by Crown prosecutors who argue Ali murdered Cynara by smothering her with a pillow and then spun an elaborate web of lies to cover the crime.
Shkrum says smothering can be very difficult to determine during an autopsy because there may be very few signs of it.
He says scrapes or bruises on a person's nostrils, lips, or tears inside the mouth, as well as pieces of material or fibre in the mouth area are potential signs of smothering.
But, he says no fibres were found in Cynara's mouth, and there was only a superficial bruise on the right side of her mouth which was likely caused by a tube placed there while she was in hospital. He also says a mark found on her collar bone was likely from a neck brace that was placed on her.
