CAROLYN BELLAMY; OREGON; TRIAL BEGINS; SHAKING ALLEGED; DEFENCE ALLEGES PROSECUTION EXPERT HAS "AN AGENDA" AND LACKS QUALIFICATIONS; THE OREGONIAN

"Casalino said evidence from doctors will show that Magathan's injuries could not have been caused by falling 22 inches from the bed down to the carpeted floor. He added that Bellamy, who had been on the phone to try to get a rebate from Cricket Wireless, was frustrated because the toddler was getting into her papers that were spread on the bed where she sat with the child.

He added that Bellamy's own words at times suggest she had shaken the child.

But her attorney, Russell Barnett, said Bellamy, 60, has never shown signs of a temper or lashing out against her granddaughter -- or anyone else, for that matter.

He said a child-abuse expert that is expected to testify for the prosecution has "an agenda" and lacks the qualifications to back up his findings.

"Everything he can't explain is child abuse," Barnett said, adding that the grandmother could not physically have committed the injury to the 35-pound toddler that investigators accuse her of doing.

He said the girl had had numerous falls previously and had several times indicated pain in her head, which was written off by others as teething. But he said there may have been some other defect or injury that caused the bleeding and swelling in her brain."

REPORTER HELEN JUNG; THE OREGONIAN;

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ariana Magathan was just 11 days shy of her second birthday in October 2009 when her grandmother, Carolyn Bellamy, called 911," the Oregonian story by reporter Helen Jung published earlier today under the heading, "Gresham grandmother goes on trial in death of toddler," begins.

"The girl, Bellamy told them, had crawled off a bed and fallen onto the floor. She wasn't breathing or responding," the story continues.

"But Multnomah County deputy district attorney John Casalino argued that Bellamy was just giving authorities a story to hide the fact that she had harmed the toddler, who died a few days later of blunt head force trauma. Rather, he said, Bellamy, who helped watch the child while her mother attended school, had shaken the girl so hard that the toddler sustained the deadly injuries.

Casalino made the accusations as Bellamy's trial opened Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Bellamy, who faces charges of felony murder and first-degree manslaughter, has waived her right to a jury trial. Multnomah County Circuit Judge Janice Wilson will decide her case.

Casalino said evidence from doctors will show that Magathan's injuries could not have been caused by falling 22 inches from the bed down to the carpeted floor. He added that Bellamy, who had been on the phone to try to get a rebate from Cricket Wireless, was frustrated because the toddler was getting into her papers that were spread on the bed where she sat with the child.

He added that Bellamy's own words at times suggest she had shaken the child.

But her attorney, Russell Barnett, said Bellamy, 60, has never shown signs of a temper or lashing out against her granddaughter -- or anyone else, for that matter.

He said a child-abuse expert that is expected to testify for the prosecution has "an agenda" and lacks the qualifications to back up his findings.

"Everything he can't explain is child abuse," Barnett said, adding that the grandmother could not physically have committed the injury to the 35-pound toddler that investigators accuse her of doing.

He said the girl had had numerous falls previously and had several times indicated pain in her head, which was written off by others as teething. But he said there may have been some other defect or injury that caused the bleeding and swelling in her brain.

"What happened to Ariana, quite honestly, nobody knows," he said.

The trial is expected to last several days."

The story can be found at:

http://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2011/07/gresham_grandmother_goes_on_tr.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;