Before the Goudge Inquiry began I was well aware of the central role that Dr. Charles Smith had played in Nicholas' case at the request of the Ontario Chief Coroner's office.
However, I was was surprised to learn from evidence called at the Inquiry that the Sudbury police force had turned to an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) "behaviourist" named Detective-Sergeant Jim Van Allen, a member of the OPP's Behavioural Sciences Unit, for an opinion on whether Lianne Gagnon had murdered her 11-month old son Nicholas.
What makes this intervention fascinating - in light of our knowledge that Nicholas suffered a tragic accident and was not murdered - is that Van Allen concluded, based on his analysis of a statement made by Lianne to the police within hours of Nicholas dying, that Lianne was responsible for his death.
We learn from an Overview report prepared by Goudge Inquiry staff, that on May 12, 1997 - just five weeks before Lianne was summoned to the police station for what an oppressive interrogation in which she was accused of being responsible for Nicholas' death - Sergeant Robert Keetch had a meeting with Van Allen.
During the course of the meeting, Keetch gave Van Allen a copy of a statement which Lianne gave Keetch on November 30, 1995 - the same day that Lianne lost her son - and asked him to analyze the document.
To my eyes, the statement, which began with the words "he woke up this morning at 8.30" - and went on to describe what in every respect was a normal day until her son suddenly died - was the outpouring of a young mother desperately trying to come to grip with the unthinkable reality that her tender young son was forever gone.
Detective Sergeant Van Allen didn't see it that way.
"It is my opinion, that the statement reveals that that Lianne Gagnon had an active role in the death of (Nicholas), and is concealing information," the letter dated May, 14, 1997 - five weeks before Lianne was summoned to the station, told the case had been re-opened and subjected to an oppressive interview - begins.
"The following observations are offered in support of this opinion," it continues.
"Ms. Gagnon never referred to the deceased as her son, her child or by his name,which indicates a poor relationship between them at that time. She only mentioned that she lived with other people by referring to a sewing table of her mothers. It appears that the relationship with her parents, if they reside with her, was also strained.
The statement contains no emotions. It is expected that after the death of their child, a parent would include the emotional impact it had.
Words such as "after" and "start" are unnecessary connections which indicate areas of a statement where information has intentionally been removed. After and start are used in the following places.
"After" lunch I got him dressed..."
"After he was done eating, he started crawling around on the family room floor.He got underneath my mother's sewing machine and he bumped his head and he started to cry" (Please note: this sentence describes the alleged injury of the child that lead to its death. It begins and ends with after and start and contains passive language. It should be considered very sensitive, and unreliable)
Repeating activities is an indicator of deception particularly in cases of homicide. Ms. Gagnon repeated that she made dinner. She changed her language from sat on to played on which also suggests that deception may be present at this point. Experience indicates for most parents that young children don't sit still waiting for their dinner to be prepared.
Two things are referred to as unusual in this statement and should be clarified in a subsequent interview, they are, not usually feeding the child in the family room, and the child's cry after he "bumped his head."
Passive language is an indicator of possible deception, or a way of attempting to remove responsibility from oneself. Passive language is contained in the following phrases.
...He got underneath my mother's sewing machine..."
...When I picked him up, the crying stopped, his mouth was open but no sound was coming out
"but his breath kept getting cut off" (Please note: the subject used the word breath, and not breathing. Breath indicates the air being exchanged, and breathing is the mechanical action of drawing breath)
..."I slapped his back and shook him to try and make him catch his breath but it didn't work."
The phrase, "but his breath kept getting cut off" is a suspicious choice of words in a death where petechial hemorrhaging is found.
Unjustified changes in language are usually an indicator of possible deception at that point in a statement. Ms. Gagnon states:
"His crying was unusual, so I ran right to him."
"I immediately rann across the street"
It could be reasoned that although she was concerned, the manner of running in both instances was not the same. Had they been similar, she would likely have referred to them the same way.
The phrase, "When I picked him up the crying stopped..." indicates the child was crying until, and stopped after she picked him up. "The crying" does not have a possessive pronoun such as his crying, his first nap, his second nap, his dinner, his head, his breath, his mouth, his back. This is another indicator that deception is present, and makes me suspect that "the crying" was the problem.
Conclusion:
The language contained in the statement is indicative of tension and possibly a bad relationship between Ms. Gagnon, her child and her parents. Areas of possible deception, and intentionally removed information are noted. Efforts to minimize or avoid responsibility through the use of passive language are evident.
These findings cause me to believe that Ms. Gagnon is responsible for the action that led to the death of her child. A mechanism of asphyxia is suggested.
If further information concerning this analysis, or assistance regarding this investigation is required , please contact me direct at......contact information provided."
(To be totally fair to Detective Sergeant Van Allen: His report begins with the following preamble, which I am providing in its entirety;
"This analysis was prepared by Detective Sergeant Jim Van Allen of the Ontario Provincial Police Behaviour Sciences Section, using principles of Scientific Content Analysis. (SCAN). SCAN is intended for use, and is most effective for "pure version" statements which are verbatim. How close the statement is to verbatim, will determine how the interviewer should apply the analysis to this investigation. This analysis contains opinions, and is provided for "lead value" only. It should not be considered an absolute indicator of the opinions offered.")
I will leave it to my readers to make up their own minds about the OPP opinion - except to say that I am sad and angry to see these words written about an innocent mother who lost her child by someone who never met her - all in the name of science.
But believe it or not, in the next posting you will see how the Sudbury police continued to pursue Lianne Gagnon with one of the ugliest excesses of state power that I have ever seen - the execution of a search warrant on a baby's coffin.
Next posting: Interrogation of an innocent mother: Part Four;
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
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