"THE RETRIAL WAS ORDERED IN LATE 2007 BY THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA AFTER CONCERNS ABOUT TESTIMONY BY DISGRACED PATHOLOGIST CHARLES SMITH WERE RAISED. A REVIEW OF DR. SMITH'S FINDINGS AND EXPERT TESTIMONY LED TO A REVIEW OF SEVERAL CRIMINAL CASES INVOLVING THE DEATHS OF CHILDREN."
REPORTER JEFF SHULMAN: NEWSDURHAMREGION.COM;
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This brief report was published on June 1, 2009 on newsdurhamregion.com under the heading, "Motions begin in Whitby court."
"WHITBY -- Pretrial motions have begun as the retrial of two parents convicted in the 1993 death of their young son approaches," the story by reporter Jeff Mitchell begins;
"Among the issues to be considered by Superior Court Justice Alexander Sosna is a motion by defence lawyers for Marco and Anisa Trotta, an Oshawa couple convicted in 1998 on charges related to the death of their eight-month-old son Paolo, for a stay of proceedings," the story continues;
"The judge began hearing submissions Monday morning in a Whitby courtroom; arguments presented during the pretrial motions are subject to a publication ban.
A new trial for the couple is scheduled to begin in October.
The retrial was ordered in late 2007 by the Supreme Court of Canada after concerns about testimony by disgraced pathologist Charles Smith were raised. A review of Dr. Smith's findings and expert testimony led to a review of several criminal cases involving the deaths of children.
Paolo's death in 1993 was originally attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome but a review of those findings by Dr. Smith several years later led to charges against the child's parents. After a sensational trial in 1998, Marco Trotta was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 15 years; Anisa Trotta was convicted of criminal negligence causing death and other offences and given five years in prison."
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
