SBS: Newfoundland: Colin Matchim trial

Colin James Matchim appears in court in this Telegram file photo.

There has been a delay in the sentencing of Colin James Matchim, the 25-year-old man convicted May 31 of aggravated assault for shaking his baby daughter.
Matchim was to be sentenced this morning in Newfoundland Supreme Court in St. John’s, but his newly appointed lawyer, Peter Ralph, has requested more time with the case file.
"Once we received the discovery (July 4) there were some issues we thought we needed to explore before we proceeded to sentencing," the lawyer told Justice Wayne Dymond.
He also said he has recommended Matchim not participate in the creation of a pre-sentencing report.
The sentencing hearing is now scheduled for Sept. 22.
While Dymond noted it will be "an unusually long time between conviction and sentencing," since the request was made by Matchim's own attorney and the Crown had no objection to the postponement, it was granted.
Matchim was found guilty of aggravated assault for shaking 3 1/2-month-old August Matchim in March 2009.
Evidence from the 17-day trial revealed that on March 17, 2009, Matchim was home alone with the baby while the baby's mother, Kate Coombs, was out running errands.
She said the baby appeared fine and was sleeping in her swing when she left.
But when she got home about an hour later, she noticed the child was unresponsive, cold and pale.
The baby was taken to the Janeway children's hospital, where doctors immediately suspected shaken baby syndrome.
According to medical reports, the child still cannot walk on her own and has difficulty with movement on her right side. The damage is permanent.
Police arrested and charged Matchim in April 2009. He was released on strict conditions shortly afterwards, but has been in jail since Dymond handed down the verdict May 31.
http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2011-07-18/article-2660077/Sentencing-set-over-in-shaken-baby-case/1

SBS: Newfoundland: Jeffery Tippett trial continues

June 9, 2011 : Gary Kean

The seventh day of testimony at the second-degree murder trial of Jeffery Tippett involved the court hearing more evidence from medical experts Thursday.
Another medical expert has testified at Jeffery Tippett’s second-degree murder trial that she does not believe the injuries Tameron Rose presented with at hospital on Jan. 30, 2007 could have been caused by an accident.

Tippett’s trial in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador in Corner Brook resumed Thursday morning with evidence from Dr. Andrea Reid, the radiologist at Western Memorial Regional Hospital who would have analyzed the first CT scans done of the 11-month-old child not long after he was brought to hospital from Tippett’s home.
After describing the bleeding she found in the membranes between Tameron’s skull and brain and what she suspected might be bleeding in the brain tissue itself, Reid was asked why her notes on her findings included a suspicion that this may be a case of child abuse or shaken baby syndrome.
Like other medical experts who have already testified at the trial, Reid said she did not believe the type of injuries she saw were consistent with the explanations she was given, which included that Tameron had hit his head on Tippett’s shoulder.
Reid said that, although a skull fracture at the back of Tameron’s head was not discovered during her analysis of the CT scans, she compared his brain injury to someone having fallen to the ground from several stories.
The trial continues this afternoon.
http://www.thewesternstar.com/News/Local/2011-06-09/article-2571315/Another-health-professional-testifies-Tameron-Rose%26rsquo%3Bs-injuries-may-have-been-child-abuse/1

SBS: Newfoundland: Colin Matchim guilty of shaking baby

June 1, 2011 Rosie Gillingham   

Colin James Matchim is handcuffed by a sheriff’s officer after being found guilty of aggravated assault in Supreme Court Tuesday. A request by his lawyer that he be allowed to remain free until his sentencing in July was denied and he was immediately...

He had denied it, then confessed to it, recanted the confession and even blamed the mother of his child.
In the end, Colin James Matchim’s ever-changing story about what caused his infant daughter’s brain damage two years ago ended with his conviction Tuesday.
The 25-year-old was found guilty of aggravated assault for shaking 3 1/2-month-old August Matchim in March 2009.
“I believe the accused could not accept what he had done to his child and was unable to tell (the child’s mother) Kate Coombs, Child Youth and Family Services (CYFS) or the police what actually took place (until days later),” Justice Wayne Dymond stated in his written decision, copies of which were distributed to lawyers and reporters.
Moments after Dymond gave his shortened verbal decision, Matchim was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
From the other side of the courtroom at Newfoundland Supreme Court in St. John’s, Coombs watched, showing no reaction.
Matchim’s lawyer, Scott Hurley, had objected to Crown prosecutor Phil LeFeuvre’s recommendation to put Matchim in jail before sentencing.
He pointed out Matchim has not missed a court date and would not pose a risk to anyone if he was released.
But Dymond disagreed, pointing to problems with Matchim’s ability to adhere to certain conditions and his emotional stability.
During the trial, Matchim and Coombs admitted to seeing each other, and to Matchim seeing the baby, after he had been charged. Matchim had been ordered to have no contact with either of them.
“Under unique circumstances, it’s safer for everyone that Mr. Matchim (be taken) into custody,” Dymond said.
A sentencing hearing is set for July 25.

Evidence from the 17-day trial revealed that on March 17, 2009, Matchim was home alone with the baby while Coombs was out running errands. She said the baby appeared fine and was sleeping in her swing when she left.
But when she got home about an hour later, she noticed the child was unresponsive, cold and pale.
The baby was taken to the Janeway children’ hospital, where doctors immediately suspected shaken baby syndrome.
According to medical reports, the child still cannot walk on her own and has difficulty with movement on her right side. The damage is permanent.
Police arrested and charged Matchim in April 2009. He was released on strict conditions shortly afterwards.
Matchim had originally denied he did anything wrong.
But 10 days after the incident, he confessed to police and to a social worker that he did shake the child.
He made the admission to police after having an MSN online conversation with Coombs, who had moved out of their apartment.

“I believe the accused could not accept what he had done to his child and was unable to tell (the child’s mother) Kate Coombs, Child Youth and Family Services (CYFS) or the police what actually took place (until days later).” - Justice Wayne Dymond

During the conversation, Coombs was upset with Matchim and demanded he tell her what happened to the baby.
He initially denied he hurt her, but later told her, “I will tell you … It was an accident.” He goes on to say the baby had been crying and was holding her breath.”
He then went to police and confessed to shaking her. The next day, he admitted the same to a CYFS social worker.
During the trial, the defence had objected to allowing Matchim’s confessions, but after arguments on the subject, Dymond found it was voluntary and admissible.
When he took the stand, Matchim recanted the confessions, stating he gave false information because he feared August would end up in foster care. However, he later said he confessed because he was sick of all the interviews with social workers and police.
At one point to police, Matchim even blamed Coombs for causing the baby’s injuries, but at trial, changed his story to say he did not believe Coombs was responsible.
In the end, the judge said there were too many inconsistencies in Matchim’s stories and concluded he lacked credibility.
“It is clear Mr. Matchim lied to the police, as he has given two completely different versions, both convincing and detailed,” Dymond said the main reason Matchim confessed at all was because he was afraid Coombs would leave him for good.
The judge said Matchim’s explanation for the baby’s injuries was inconsistent with medical evidence, “which clearly establishes that the child was shaken.”
Dymond also pointed out Matchim chose to ignore court orders to stay away from Coombs and the baby.
“It is clear that the recognizance meant absolutely nothing to him,” Dymond said.
Matchim is due in provincial court July 26 to answer to those charges.
As for Coombs, the judge said while she also lied on the stand about having no contact with Matchim, he didn’t believe she was responsible for the baby’s injuries.
Not only did she demand that Matchim tell her what happened during their MSN conversation, but she later admitted she lied because was concerned about CYFS finding out she had been with Matchim.
“This does not excuse her lying on this issue,” Dymond said, “but it does explain why she did.”
Coombs chose not to speak to reporters after proceedings.
Lawyers also opted not to comment as they review sentencing options.
http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2011-06-01/article-2550315/Matchim-guilty-of-shaking-baby/1

SBS: Newfoundland: Colin Matchim trial

Apr 5, 2011

Kate Coombs testified that her infant daughter was happy and healthy when she left her in the care of her former partner. (CBC )

The mother of a brain-injured girl told a St. John's trial Tuesday that her daughter was healthy and happy shortly before she was allegedly shaken by her father.

Meanwhile, court was presented Tuesday with the transcription of an emotionally raw texting exchange between Kate Coombs and Colin Matchim, who is being tried for aggravated assault in the alleged March 2009 shaking of their daughter, August.
Colin Matchim is standing trial for allegedly assaulting his baby daughter. CBC Kate Coombs told Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador that she changed and washed her daughter, and then left the infant with Matchim because she had to go to the bank.
Court has been told the girl, who was three and a half months old at the time, has significant neurological damage.
Coombs testified that when she returned home, August was grey, pale and cold. The baby was taken immediately to the Janeway children's hospital in St. John's.
Coombs said she fainted when she was told that the baby was brain-injured.
The transcript presented to the court shows the powerful emotions between the then-estranged couple in the days immediately following that incident.
"I cant [sic] live without you," Matchim texted Coombs, who had gone to stay with her mother and had told Matchim she wanted no contact with him. "i am not trying to be a bitch but i can;t talk to you knowing that something happend to baby August when i wasn't home and you can't tell me what happened," Coombs texted to Matchim.
"i know but im going insane," he replied.
The texting exchange happened just before Matchim confessed to police that he had shaken his daughter, but had not intended to hurt her. The defence has said Matchim made the confession only because he felt threatened by a social worker, who said he would otherwise lose access to his child.
After Matchim told her that he was scared, Coombs texted back, "your scared, you know if i loose August im going to have a nervous break down."
"i know me too," Matchim wrote. "i'm having thoughts. i just can't deal with this anymore."
Later, after telling Coombs that he was afraid she would "disappear out of my life," Matchim agreed to speak to police once more.
"just know that it was an accident ok she was holding her breath and she wouldnt let go and i panniked."
Coombs stopped engaging with Matchim, who repeatedly asked for her attention, at one point typing Kate!, with dozens of extra exclamation points.
Coombs, who made a copy of the texting exchange after Matchim requested she do so, testified that she was too angry to respond to Matchim.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2011/04/05/matchim-mother-testifies-405.htm

SBS: Newfoundland: Colin Matcham

March 16, 2011

Shortly after his infant daughter was taken to hospital suffering from what doctors suspect was Shaken Baby Syndrome, Colin James Matchim confessed to police that he did it.
Matchim made the confession to RNC Sgt. Pat Roche on March 26, 2009, during a videotaped statement at RNC headquarters.

It happened just a few hours after denying to police he shook the baby.
The admissibility of Matchim's confession was the subject of arguments for over a week in Matchim’s trial in Newfoundland Supreme Court in St. John’s.
Justice Wayne Dymond ruled today the confession is admissible and can be entered into evidence during the trial.
Matchim, who is not in custody, quickly grabbed his coat and walked out of the courtroom after proceedings, which took just minutes for Dymond to announce his decision.
The trial continues Thursday.
Matchim faces one count of aggravated assault. He's suspected of shaking his 3 1/2-month-old daughter in early March 2009, causing her permanent brain damage.
http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2011-03-16/article-2334540/Judge-rules-confession-to-police-admissible/1

SBS: Duggan, Bay Bulls, Newfoundland

 November 18, 2009

A babysitter who was accused of injuring a child in her care, and who was separated from her own two children for more than a year as a result, is telling a harrowing story of how she was treated by the child protection system.

Amanda Duggan was investigated by child protection workers and police after a child was injured while in her care. She was never charged. (CBC) The case involving Amanda Duggan of Bay Bulls, a small community on Newfoundland's southern shore, has opposition parties in Newfoundland and Labrador demanding an investigation into how the accusation of child abuse was handled by the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services.
Duggan's troubles began in February 2008, when she was babysitting a 13-month-old girl in her home.
"I sat her on the floor and I went to go and mix her a bottle," Duggan told CBC News. "All of a sudden I heard a thump, and I looked back and here was the child and she was just in a seizure, she was just shaking."
Duggan called 911 and the child was taken to the Janeway Children's Hospital in St. John's, where the girl was assessed as being in critical condition.
"The next day, I got up and got ready and went out to the hospital again, and all of a sudden the RCMP come and say 'We want to take a statement from you,' and I said 'Fine.' I didn't really know what was going on. I just followed whatever they told me to do."
A short time later, Duggan was being investigated by police and social workers of causing abusive head trauma, commonly known as shaken baby syndrome.
"I didn't know what was going on. I was in shock. They said that I caused an abusive head trauma to a child I was caring for."
In a letter written to child protection officials, the pediatrician on call at the hospital said the child had trauma severe enough to cause "subdural hematoma," "retinal hemorrhages," and "brain injury."

Separated from her own children

Police and child protection officials both began investigations, and for the next 16 months, Duggan wasn't allowed to be alone with her own two children, a four-year-old boy and a 22-month-old girl.
"They said that they had to do their investigation before I could be home with my children."
Duggan and her husband Jamie agreed to move out of the house so their children could remain at home, cared for by their grandparents.
They were allowed visits, but only under the supervision of social workers.
Jamie Duggan is seeking answers following a 16-month ordeal in which his wife was investigated for possible child abuse. She was never charged. (CBC) Jamie Duggan, fighting tears during an interview with CBC News, said it was torturous trying to deal with social workers who sometimes showed up late for the specified times in which he and his wife were allowed to be with their kids.
"I said to one lady [a social worker] 'Well, you're half an hour late.' She said 'Yeah, do you want me to leave now again?' I said, 'No ma'am, I don't.'"
Amanda Duggan asked for the police file on the allegations against her, but the RCMP kept it confidential. She was never charged with a crime.
She went to family court repeatedly to get more access to her children and to get access to medical information on her file.
"I was babysitting for 19 years. When we went to court, I went in with 22 letters of support from different families."
Her longtime family doctor also wrote letters saying she had no concerns about Duggan's abilities as a caregiver.
But the months stretched to a year, then longer, and Duggan still knew little about the case against her.
"All that we knew is that, 'OK, Mrs. Duggan, you've been accused of abusive head trauma to this child.' There was never no medical information passed over to our lawyer stating what caused them to reason this."

Crucial information withheld

Child protection officials finally handed over their file on the case to Duggan's lawyer in the spring of this year, 15 months after the incident.
Buried in the documents was a piece of medical information that the Duggans' lawyer found startling, and that had been kept from the Duggans for months.
The initial medical opinion was that the child's injury happened after she was dropped off at the Duggan's house.
But notes in the child protection file months later indicate that medical opinion had changed, and that the injury could have been sustained up to four days before and not necessarily while she was in Duggan's care.
After police decided not to charge Duggan, it was about another six months before social workers moved to close the case.
"It shouldn't have taken this long to come to where they finally came to in the end," Duggan said.

'Horror story,' says opposition

Liberal leader Yvonne Jones is familiar with the case.
"I think the Duggan story is an absolute horror story," she said.
Jones wants a full investigation into how the case was handled.
"There was no reason to lay charges found. Yet, the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services continued to insist that these children be separated from their parents."
Lorraine Michael, the leader of the New Democratic Party in the province, agrees. She said the Duggan family could have been reunited sooner, if it wasn't for the long delays in the investigation.
"This woman and her family have been through hell," Michael told CBC News.
She said Duggan's rights were violated when medical information on the possible time frame of the child's injuries was withheld from her.
"I think she had the right to see that information, and I think they had the obligation to show it to her. That's why I think there are many levels to how they [Child, Youth and Family services] could be investigated themselves."
Minister of Child Youth and Family Services Joan Burke said her department is looking at ways of streamlining and co-ordinating information-sharing with parties involved in child protection cases.
The injured child's parents, Lynette Carey and Don White, issued a statement to CBC News saying their daughter is the ultimate victim in this case.
They said she has made significant gains after 20 months of rehabilitation.
"We have remained silent while focusing on our daughter's rehabilitation. We have been assured by the team of more than eight doctors … that the medical consensus is that [our daughter] suffered an abusive head trauma."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/11/18/nl-duggan-child-181109.html##ixzz12W9vDtuj

SBS: Tippett, Nfld.

Defence objections at a murder trial in western Newfoundland brought a temporary halt to testimony on Wednesday.
Corner Brook resident Jeffery Tippett, 35, is being tried for second-degree murder in the January 2007 death of Tameron Rose, an 11-month-old boy. Tippett's girlfriend was the child's babysitter.
The Crown was questioning David Buckley, a pediatric neurologist from the Janeway children's hospital in St. John's.
A severely brain-injured Tameron had been brought to hospital in Corner Brook, but was soon flown to the Janeway in St. John's, where a team of specialists started work on him immediately. The child died the next day, however.
Buckley, who examined Tameron in St. John's, told the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador jury that the baby's symptoms were consistent with a "non-accidental injury."
That prompted defence lawyer Keir O'Flaherty to jump to his feet with an objection. O'Flaherty demanded that the jury be sent out of the room while he told the judge his concerns.
A publication ban covers their subsequent discussion. However, it is clear that the exact nature of Tameron's injuries is emerging as a critical issue at Tippett's trial.
Earlier, pediatric ophthalmologist Dorothy Bautista testified that Tameron's injuries were consistent with shaken-baby syndrome, and that the amount of bleeding in the vessels of his eyes was consistent with a fall on the head from a three-storey building.
On cross-examination, however, the defence revealed that the autopsy confirmed a skull fracture. That appeared to be at odds with evidence presented Monday, which showed that internal head trauma caused the child's death.
After hearing O'Flaherty's objections, Judge Alan Seaborn asked for time to consider Crown and defence lawyers' arguments.
The trial was expected to resume Thursday afternoon.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/09/23/tippett-trial-objection-923.html#ixzz12Vx3wCHK

SBS: Trial in Newfoundland, Canada

A doctor testifying during a Newfoundland second-degree murder trial said yesterday that the baby boy who died may have been shaken.
Dr. Dorothy Bautista, a pediatric ophthalmologist, was testifying in the trial of Jeffery Isaac Tippett in provincial court in Corner Brook. Tippett was charged in the 2007 death of 11-month-old Tameron Rose of Corner Brook.
Bautista, who examined Rose's eyes at the Janeway Children's Hospital, said that she found retinal hemorrhages in both of the child's eyes.
Bautista also testified that her recommendation was to investigate the possibility the child had been shaken.
She said the severity of the injuries were consistent with a being shaken, especially in the absence of no obvious trauma to the outside of the child's body.
Court has also heard testimony that revealed the child's autopsy showed he had a skull fracture.
She said she had seen similar injuries in a child who had fallen from a third-storey balcony in her past clinical experience.
Under cross-examination, Bautista told defence lawyer Keir O'Flaherty that she later learned Tameron Rose had, in fact, suffered a skull fracture, which was not discovered until his autopsy.
O'Flaherty asked Bautista if she had been aware, at the time of her examination, that Tippett's partner - Tanya Tulk, who was caring for Rose with Tippett on Jan. 30, 2007 - had told police the child had banged his head on a crib earlier in the day. Bautista said she wasn't.
http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/1231222

SBS: Newfoundland, Canada trial

The injuries an 11-month-old boy in Corner Brook sustained before dying in 2007 are consistent with shaken-baby syndrome, according to an eye doctor who testified Wednesday at a murder trial in western Newfoundland.
Jeffery Tippett, 35, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Tameron Rose.
Pediatric ophthalmologist Dorothy Bautista was called as an expert witness at Tippett's trial in Corner Brook. She examined the baby's eyes the day after he was sent to the Janeway Hospital in St. John's in 2007.
Tameron died on Jan. 31, 2007. He had been admitted the previous day to Western Memorial Hospital in Corner Brook. Bautista said the baby had injuries that were most likely caused by shaking.
She ruled out infection, diabetes or leukemia as the cause of the injuries, and said the degree of bleeding she saw is consistent with a fall on the head from a three-storey building.
Jeffrey Tippett, 35, is on trial in Corner Brook on a charge of second-degree murder. (CBC)She said her investigation showed that Tameron had some bleeding in his left eye and moderate to severe bleeding in his right eye.
The defence is scheduled to cross-examine Bautista on Wednesday afternoon on her conclusion that the baby's injuries were caused by shaking.
Tippett's trial began Sept. 16 with evidence from the boy's mother, Maria Rose. She told the court that her son was pleasant and did not cry unless he was being bothered by his teething.
Tippett was babysitting the boy before he was taken to hospital with brain injuries.
About 30 witnesses are expected to be called in his trial, which has been delayed several times.
In September 2009, an entire jury was dismissed.
Last Wednesday, the trial was briefly postponed while authorities sought out a 12th juror. A publication ban is in effect on the events that led to the jury being short of a full complement.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/09/22/nl-bautista-tipett-922.html