TORONTO — A Toronto jury hearing the case of a woman accused of killing her stepdaughter is being told she was unaware the teen's life was at risk and that her husband in fact drowned the malnourished and abused girl.
The suggestion is being made in defence closing arguments at the trial of Elaine Biddersingh, who has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Melonie.
The girl's body was found in a burning suitcase in an industrial parking lot north of Toronto in 1994 but went unidentified for years until 2011, when Biddersingh told an Ontario pastor the girl had "died like a dog."
Melonie's father, Everton Biddersingh, was found guilty in January of first-degree murder in his daughter's death, but jurors at Elaine Biddersingh's trial were instructed to disregard that conviction as "completely irrelevant'' to their case.
Biddersingh's defence lawyer says it was Melonie's father who was a "master manipulator" who "abused everyone in his path," including his wife.
She says he drowned his daughter alone, without his wife's knowledge.
Expert evidence at the trial has indicated Melonie drowned or nearly drowned, inhaling water shortly before her death.
Melonie came to Canada from Jamaica in 1991 with two brothers to live with her father and her stepmother in Toronto.
The trial has heard that Melonie's younger brother died in an accident in 1992, and Melonie and her older brother Cleon's treatment worsened significantly over time.
Court has heard that Melonie was physically and emotionally abused.
The Crown has argued that Biddersingh was the mastermind behind the abuse while her husband was the enforcer.
Medical evidence called in the trial indicated Melonie was severely malnourished and had 21 healing fractures when she died.
