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WARNING: This story contains graphic descriptions of injuries to a child that some readers may find disturbing.
It’s unlikely that an infant’s death in 2021 was caused by a fall from a bed as his mother claimed, according to a forensic pathologist who examined the baby boy’s injuries and testified at the murder trial of the woman and her former partner.
Boravy Buth, the child’s mother, and Patrick O’Connor, her partner at the time, are each charged with second-degree murder. Buth is also charged with criminal negligence causing death.
Photos taken immediately after police arrived at the couple’s home in October 2021, and later in hospital, were shown to jurors as Dr. Christopher Milroy, the pathologist who attended the scene and examined the seven-week-old baby, testified over three days.
Ottawa police arrived at the couple’s home after receiving reports of a child who wasn’t breathing. According to an officer who testified earlier, Buth said the baby had fallen off the bed in the middle of the night.
Milroy called that explanation unlikely.
“In my opinion we can exclude any suggestion of a fall from the bed causing the pattern of injuries to the head,” Milroy told jurors, describing the infant’s “abnormal bruising,” “congested head” and “severe” dark purple bruising.
Massive hemorrhaging
Photos of the child’s injuries were shown to jurors on individual screens, as well as a larger monitor at the front of the courtroom.
The autopsy found massive hemorrhaging of the baby’s brain, including what Milroy called a “frankly striking” amount of blood and swelling — the most severe he’d seen in some 700 autopsies he’s conducted.
Jurors were also shown photos of “pin-sized abrasions” and “pattern bruising” on the infant’s chest, arms and legs.
“That shouldn’t be there,” Milroy testified. “You shouldn’t have any bruises on a child this age.”
Milroy said some of those injuries were consistent with those found in cases of child abuse. He added that some were likely present before the baby suffered a fatal blow to the head that was similar in force to a vehicle collision or a fall from a significant height.
During cross-examination, Buth’s lawyer suggested a dehumidifier could have been used to inflict injuries on the infant. Milroy agreed there were a number of household items that could have been involved.
Buth wept audibly during much of the testimony. O’Connor, sitting in front of her, alternated between looking at his computer screen and the witness.
Earlier in the trial, the infant’s biological father testified that he’d expressed concerns about Buth to authorities months before his son’s death.
The trial is expected to last eight weeks.