The officers who apprehended two girls – one who later died – from a Regina couple who are on trial for murder and unlawfully causing bodily harm, took the stand on Thursday afternoon.
The witnesses were called at the trial of Kevin Goforth, 40, and Tammy Goforth, 39, who are charged with second-degree murder of a four-year-old girl who had been in their care leading up to her death. The Goforths had also been caring for the girl’s two-year-old sister.
The police officers spoke of the when they took the girls from the home of the Goforths on August 1, 2012. Their testimony was brief but at times graphic.
Sergeant Derek Lamer says the call came in as an assault complaint involving children. He says he attended to the hospital where he saw the four-year-old girl.
He told the court, “she was skinny, not conscious, there were bruises all over her body and she was hooked up to a respirator.”
She was pronounced dead later that day.
The cause of death was heart failure as a result of severe malnutrition.
Her two-year-old sister was described as conscious but not responsive, thin and frail, with bruising on her left cheek. That girl did recover from her injuries.
A final police witness described the Goforths’ home as being in complete disarray.
Earlier in the day, lawyers argued about the admissibility of evidence at the trial, which had earlier detailed that the two girls were removed from their home in 2010 for their own safety. What followed was almost two years of foster care in nine homes. The last one, was the home of Kevin and Tammy.
Testimony at the trial from their child protection worker and two former foster parents indicated the girls were happy, healthy, and pudgy while in foster care. One worker last saw the girls in November of 20122.
The Goforths were named guardians of the children in January of 2012.
The Goforths were what is known as “persons of sufficient interest” in their role as care givers – the same as being a legal guardian. As such, social services was no longer required to do regular checks on them, unlike foster care where frequent checks are part of the process.
That changed dramatically by August 2012. Photos of the girls in hospital at that time showed they were emaciated, bruised, and dehydrated.
This has been an emotional trial with supporters for both the Goforths and the victim’s mother attending court every day.
The mother has been sobbing almost continuously throughout the proceedings and there have been some tense exchanges in the hallway.
On Wednesday, there was altercation outside the courthouse as a reporter attempted to get a picture of the accused. The journalist was obstructed by a supporter of the Goforths. The man pushed up in front of the reporter waving his arms wildly preventing the picture from being snapped.
As this was happening, a car filled with supporters for the victim’s mother stopped and a woman in the passenger seat yelled out “baby killers!”
The trial, which began on Monday, is expected to last another two weeks.
Testimony resumes Friday morning with another police witness. The Crown has now called 8 of its 16 witnesses.
The defence will call its witnesses after the prosecution is done, likely not until the third week of the trial. It has indicated the jury will be hearing from both Tammy and Kevin Goforth, who will explain what really happened in their home.