REGINA — A 14-year-old boy has testified he saw a four-year-old girl's hands being taped to a wall at the home of the caregivers who are accused of killing her.
The boy's testimony drew audible gasps and sobs from relatives of the girl who were sitting at the back of the courtroom on Tuesday.
The boy says when he was visiting the home of Tammy and Kevin Goforth in the summer of 2011, the four-year-old and her two-year-old sister were locked in their room for the entire weekend.
He says he never saw them eat.
The Goforths are on trial in Regina charged with second-degree murder in the four-year-old's death.
They are also charged with causing bodily harm to her two-year-old sister, who has since recovered.
The teenager told the court the taping incident occurred when he found "poop" in a corner of the basement and told Tammy Goforth.
He said the adult woman took the girl to the spot and taped her hands to the wall.
Under cross-examination, the defence asked the boy how he could have known the girls were locked in their rooms the whole time he was there, since he could not have seen them.
But the boy maintained that he saw what he had told the court.
Earlier in the day, an RCMP forensic DNA analyst gave evidence. Peter McLaren tested eight pieces of evidence collected from the Goforth home.
Blood and the hair of the four-year-old were found on pyjama pants, cargo strapping, pieces of tape, shrink wrap, pieces of cardboard and a strip of fabric.
DNA evidence of the two-year-old was also found on cardboard. There was also DNA evidence of Tammy and Kevin Goforth on various items alongside the girls’ DNA.
In the afternoon, the pediatrician who treated the two-year-old at the General Hospital in August 2012 took the stand.
Dr. Shauna Flavelle testified to the girl being malnourished, dehydrated and thin: "She looked wasted to me."
Flavelle described the girl's malnutrition as severe, and said it would take a long period of time for it to get to that point.
Once the girl was put into hospital, the doctor said she began to eat "voraciously" and gained six or seven pounds in the few months after she was first admitted.
Flavelle told the court the girl had significant skin infections, including open sores, abrasions and bruises, along with pneumonia, and a urinary tract infection.
