(A CBC Fifth Estate investigation appropriately called "Diagnosis: Murder" exposed the enormous harm Dr. Charles Smith caused to innocent parents and caregivers within Ontario's criminal justice system.
The police probe of Lianne Gagnon - after Smith turned an accidental bump on the head into a suspected homicide - comes under intense scrutiny in the documentary, which ran on November, 10, 1999.
This Blogster would love to see the CBC re-run this powerful program before Dr, Smith enters the witness box at the Goudge Inquiry on Monday under compulsion of a subpoena. (This transcript was filed as an exhibit at the Goudge Inquiry);
It makes us look directly at the human cost imposed on innocent people by Dr. Smith - and those who looked the other way as the evidence of his incompetence mounted - as contrasted with the more abstract systemic issues being explored by the Inquiry.)
------------
"It would be comforting to think that Lianne's ordeal was an isolated case, but it's not. Another occurred in the early nineties in the Northern Ontario lumber town of Timmins. In this case another report by Dr. Charles Smith led to a 12-year-old girl being charged with manslaughter following the death of 16-month-old toddler she was babysitting. The doctor alleged a case of baby-shaking. The baby-sitter swore the child struck its head when it fell down a small flight of stairs.
From the outset the case was embroiled in controversy. Dr. Smith allowed the body to be buried without an autopsy even though he admitted he already had suspicions that the death may not have been accidental. But it turned out that Dr. Smith did have to do an autopsy, and the newly buried body had to be exhumed. Once the autopsy was done, more problems.
Dr. Floyd Gilles, head of Pediatric Neuropathology at the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles testified at the Timmins trial.
Dr. Floyd Gilles: (head of Paediatric Neuropathology Children's Hospital Los Angeles); It's the kind of autopsy that I would report, that I would not allow out of my training program which I had for many years in Boston. It was too lacking in specific detail.
Malarek: According to Dr. Gilles, standard autopsy practices were neglected.
Gilles: For instance, one strips all of the dura form inside the skull and looks for cracks. As far as I could tell from the pictures obtained at the time of the autopsy, the dura had not been stripped, so he could not adequately look for fractures.
Malarek: Dr. Smith said that even if he had found a linear fracture, he still would have concluded death by shaking;
Gilels: Well, I think that's an error. I think that's wrong.
Malarek: Dr. Gilles wasn't the only one who thought Dr. Smith got it wrong. During the trial, numerous medical experts appeared on behalf of the defence, testifying that this wasn't a baby-shaking death. And in his acquittal, the judge was harsh on Dr. Smith. He criticized him for not seriously considering possibilities other than shaking. He was concerned that Dr. Smith's assumptions might "colour his approach to the facts". And he concluded, "For these reasons I am not inclined to put much weight on Dr. Smith's opinion".
(To Dr. Gilles): How serious are the above criticisms? This is what the judge is saying.
Gilles: These are very serious. These are very serious because someone has been charged here and faces a serious outcome. And one has to be very careful about making these statements without adequate evidence.
Malarek: But according to Deputy Coroner James Cairns the judge simply got it wrong.
Cairns: I, with due respect, feel that the medical evidence was confusing and that the judge may not have clearly understood all the evidence that was being given.
Malarek: Although the 12-year-old babysitter was acquitted, (indecipherable)...(suggesting that there is no recourse against incompetent pathologists in an atmosphere where some critics are saying forensic pathology in Canada is in serious trouble.)
Dr. James Ferris: forensic pathologist, Vancouver): It's basically rather unhealthy;
Malarek: Dr. James Ferris is a forensic pathologist working in Vancouver. He was trained and certified through the Royal College of Pathologists in Britain and has worked on many high profile cases.
Ferris: We are short of forensic pathologists, we have really no formal training programs, and there is no such thing as certification in forensic pathology in this country.
Malarek: Although sine Canadian pathologists have gone through the rigorous certification process in the U.S. or Britain, it's not the norm. Most, like Dr Charles Smith, are pathologists who pick up forensic training and experience along the way. Often these pathologists are called in court as so-called experts in areas outside their field of expertise.
(To Dr. Ferris); When pathologists cross their area of expertise what problems can that cause?
Ferris: First of all they may be talking about something they know nothing about, but because the court(s) have qualified them as an expert, they are given authority to talk that is really not justified. And I suppose the danger is that they may be completely wrong.
Malarek: (To Dr. Cairns); So when someone says that the situation in Canada is unhealthy, you're saying in Ontario it's what?
Cairns: I'm saying in Ontario we have recognized for quite a number of years that there needed to be an upgrade in forensic pathology, and we are doing all in our power to, in fact, accomplish that.
Malarek: No formal training, no accreditation, no peer review - it's a worrisome combination when you realize that these people are making crucial decisions in cases where innocent people could end up being dragged through the court system or sent to prison.
Malarek: Today Dr. Smith is at the centre of another controversial case. It involves the death of 7-year-old Sharon Reynolds in Kingston, Ontario. She was found in the basement of the family home with eighty-two (82) wounds to her body; What has aroused attention is another heated debate over medical pathology: Dr. Smith says the injuries are eighty-two (82) stab wound inflicted by the child's mother, Louise. Dr. Ferris has looked at the autopsy results and concludes they weren't stab wounds at all.
Ferris: Well, I believe that all the injuries on (Sharon's) body are consistent with being caused by a dog.
Malarek: Dog bites;
Ferris: Dog bites, because all of those injuries are associated with extensive crushing and splitting and damage to the tissues that you simply do not get in stabbing.
Malarek: Adding to the mystery, a pit bull was seen in and around the house with red stains on its mouth. For now, however, the Louise Reynold's case boils down to a difference of opinion between Dr. Ferris and Dr. Smith. It is schedules to go to trial in the middle of (indecipherable). By then Louise Reynolds will have spent three years in some form of custody, and if the court agrees with Dr. Smith's version, she can face the rest of her life in prison."
(Next posting: Smith takes the stand: The doctor and the judge; Truth or Fantasy? Part One);
(See previous postings:
Lawyers warned "to guard" against Dr. Smith's testimony back in 1993; (October, 2007);
Dr. Smith's "mistakes": The Timmins case: Independent reviewers fond a litany of errors; (November, 2007);
Sharon's Case: Part One: Notable quotes from expanded medico-legal report; (November, 2007);
Sharon's case: Part two: More revelations: Smith claims Solicitor General agrees, "to back me." November, 2007;
Sharon's case: Part three: Kingston police defended Dr. Charles Smith after murder charge withdrawn;
Sharon's case: Part Four: Prosecutor's explanation why murder charge withdrawn; November, 2007;
Sharon's case: Part Five: The Crown's withdrawal statement: A tale of two missing paragraphs; November, 2007;
Sharon's case: Part Six: Kingston police lose bid to keep out documents; November, 2007;
Sharon's case; Part Seven; Police and pathologists and dirt; November, 2007;
Sharon's case: Part Eight; The unravelling of an expert; November, 2007;)
Harold Levy: hlevy15@gmail.com...
Showing posts with label interrogation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interrogation. Show all posts
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Part Eight: Interrogation Of An Innocent Woman: Comparison with Mullins-Johnson case; Reference To Smith To Extract Confession;
The police interrogations of Lianne Gagnon and Bill Mullins-Johnson (an innocent man) had one thing in common: In each of them the police used the fact that Dr. Charles Smith and other "experts" had been involved in the case in their bid to extract a confession.
In Nicholas' case, for example, Sergeant West tells Lianne:
"That's the end of it – you have to understand that these people, they’re professionals who – the pathologist, the head pathologist for Ontario.
I mean this is a man who’s not making idle speculation, this is a man who knows and who has empowered that knowledge to us that his death was not natural.
That’s the reality of it.
And I – I mean, I don’t ant to sit here and have, you know, endless rounds of speculation of what kind of natural things we both know that’s not true.
It wasn’t a natural death."
Similarly, the following exchange occurs during the post-arrest interrogation of Mullins-Johnson:
"Detective WELTON - Someone put too much pressure on her neck and chest, she couldn’t breathe and she died.
BILL - I didn’t do it.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - Doctors are experts".
Later in the interrogation, Detective Welton returns to the same theme that experts are infallible(so why not confess?), as follows:
"Detective WELTON - Sometimes these things happen.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - More and more points to you.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - The experts are pointing towards you.
BILL - Could there be a small error in [the time of her] death? (There turned out to be a huge error in the expert's calculation of the time of Valin's death. H.L.);
Detective WELTON - Very small, it’s between 8:00 and 10:00 pm.
BILL - Could be wrong.
Detective WELTON - They can narrow it down pretty good. They can’t pinpoint exactly, but pretty close. They do it by taking her temperature. (If only that was the case! H.L.)
BILL - All I know is I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.
For the benefit of the readers of this Blog, here is a portion of the interrogation of Bill Mullins-Johnson - an innocent man - by Sault Ste. Marie police.
To this Blogster it is notable that Mullins-Johnson does not at any time ask for a lawyer.
How many people in police custody after being charged with first-degree murder would allow the police to question them without the protection of a lawyer?
Likewise, Lianne Gagnon allows the police to question her thoroughly without either a lawyer or her parents being present - until the point where the two officers lean on her a bit too hard.
By way of context, at 6:30 p.m. Sgt. Welton arrested the Appellant for the first degree murder and aggravated sexual assault of Valin.
Mullins-Johnson called to his brother Paul (Valin's father) to find him a lawyer, and kept repeating “I didn’t do nothing”.
Once in the police car, he was described by the officers as crying, sobbing and hysterical.
En route to the police station, police notes indicate that he said:
– I didn’t do it
– I wouldn’t hurt that little girl
– You got nothing, you got fuck all, what have you got on me man, nothing, you got fuck all
– I didn’t touch her, she went to bed and that’s that.
At 6:40 p.m., in the booking room, the Appellant was told how Valin died, and at what time.
He replied:
I was doing dishes, watching TV. I put John to bed at 8:00.
Valin went to bed by herself. I was the only other person in the house.
He was then allowed to speak to his lawyer on the telephone.
At 7:07 p.m., Mr. Mullins-Johnson was spoken to by Sgt. Welton and P.C. Martynuck in an interview room.
Unfortunately, neither this interview nor any of the later ones were taped in any way.
Rather, as P.C. Martynuck wrote in her willsay, she recorded them “in her notebook to the best of [her] ability”.
Throughout this interview the Appellant continually protested his innocence.
Here is a portion of the transcript:
Detective WELTON - Could you help us in who did it?
BILL - Wasn’t me, wasn’t me, didn’t do it, didn’t do it. (pause) I just want to go to sleep.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - Did you ever touch Valin?
BILL - Thought never crossed my mind.
Detective WELTON - Is there anything you want to ask me?
BILL - No.
Detective WELTON - Was Valin a good kid?
BILL - Sometimes, she had a zest for life.
Detective WELTON - Do you understand why you’re here?
BILL - Yeah, but I don’t want to be here.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - What are you thinking?
BILL - Police force is a disgrace.
Detective WELTON - Why?
BILL - Cause it’s a disgrace. I’m innocent, I’m innocent.
Detective WELTON - But you don’t want to help us in who did it if it wasn’t you?
BILL - I’m innocent, I didn’t do anything
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - You live there Bill, why would anyone do this?
BILL - Sick, deranged.
Detective WELTON - Someone like that probably needs help.
BILL - (whispers) - Yeah
Detective WELTON - Do you get along with Kim?
BILL - Yeah;
Detective WELTON - What about Paul?
BILL - I live there don’t I. I wouldn’t live there if we didn’t get along.
The interview concluded at 7:34 pm. ..
At 10:26 p.m., the two officers tried again. The interview began:
Detective WELTON - How do you feel?
BILL - I didn’t do it.24
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - We know you did it.
BILL - I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - You know the sexual assault stuff happened.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it, I could be doing life for something I didn’t do.
Detective WELTON - If you didn’t do it, who did?
BILL - I put John to bed, went by Valin and shut the door, went down, did dishes.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - Did you take a shower today?
BILL - Yeah.
Detective WELTON - I just asked, that’s all. What are you thinking?
BILL - Why this is happening. I didn’t do it man, I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - You know Valin has passed away.
BILL - Yeah, I know. I don’t know how.
Detective WELTON - What were you wearing last night?
BILL - This and this (indicating clothes he had on).
Detective WELTON - Who got the kids in bath and pyjamas?
BILL - Kim did.
Detective WELTON - If I told you Bill, that ah, someone has been sexually assaulting Valin for a long time, who would I talk to?
BILL - It wasn’t me.
I didn’t do it.
I don’t know.
I never ever sexually touched those kids in anyway.
The thought never crossed my mind.
I lost a niece man.
I know for a fact I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it, didn’t do it.
If you said someone’s been assaulting her I want to know.
Detective WELTON - We don’t know the family.
BILL - I don’t know. Valin is precious. Valin was, she is, how would I say this, Valin would go with anyone, she loved everyone. She’d go off with strangers.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - Valin is a tiny girl.
BILL - She loved her Uncle Bill, she loved me because she loved me for me, she’d see me down the road, run up to me and say she loved me.
And all of that is gone?
People are saying I did it.
I’ll go to court for it. I didn’t do it.
I didn’t fuckin do it. I’ve been to court for 2 years, I’ll fuckin do it (Bill is very irate and upset at this point).
BILL - I’d never hurt a child.
Detective WELTON - If you want to tell me about you, go ahead.
BILL - Kids love me unconditionally. I love being around kids. I watch TV with them, especially Valin. She loved cartoons. I don’t know how she died.
Detective WELTON - She died of suffocation.
BILL - Kim told me she died when she puked.
Detective WELTON - Someone put too much pressure on her neck and chest, she couldn’t breathe and she died.
BILL - I didn’t do it.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - Doctors are experts.
BILL - I don’t know. If she died between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. (20:00 - 22:00 hours) I would have heard something.
I was there, left between 1:30 and 3:00 a.m. (01:30 and 03:00 hours).
Detective WELTON - Don’t get upset.
BILL - I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - Is it possible or have you ever done something and not remembered it?
BILL - No possibility, never happened.
Detective WELTON - Never blacked out?
BILL - Never, I’ll tell the Crown to fuck off.
If you want me to go to court and jail for society I will.
I loved her unconditionally. I’ll go to jail for her, but I didn’t do it. You’ve got to fuckin prove it.
I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it.
This hurt[s] too much.
Detective WELTON - I know it.
BILL - I dreamt about Valin.
She was at the cell door.
I just want whoever did this to be where I am, because I didn’t do it.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON -Black out, didn’t black out?
BILL - No, I put John to bed, shut Valin’s door, went downstairs, watched TV and did the dishes.
The Appellant asked Sgt. Welton:
BILL - Do you think this could be crib death?
Detective WELTON - No.
BILL - Freak accident?
Detective WELTON - No, this was someone using force.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it. I’m scared man, I don’t want to go to Kingston, I don’t want P.C. I don’t want no wacko ward.
Detective WELTON - Sometimes these things happen.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - More and more points to you.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - The experts are pointing towards you.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it. I don’t know what happened to her, if I knew, I would tell you. I wouldn’t go down for this for someone else. I want to go to bed. ..
The Appellant, who at this point was crying and, as was apparent to the police, very upset, was asked to review the interview that he had given to Sgt. Welton that morning. He did so and added:
BILL - When Valin was on the couch she covered up herself with a blanket.
She got it from the corner.
Detective WELTON - One of those ones you’d use [on] kids.
BILL - It was the one she was wrapped in, I used it on the couch. She was tired and walked up staggering. She was that tired.
P.C. Martynuck recorded that the Appellant “started crying softly when reading about finding Valin’s body”.
The Appellant reiterated that no one went upstairs while he was babysitting. The conversation continued:
BILL - Could there be a small error in [the time of her] death?
Detective WELTON - Very small, it’s between 8:00 and 10:00 pm.
BILL - Could be wrong.
Detective WELTON - They can narrow it down pretty good. They can’t pinpoint exactly, but pretty close. They do it by taking her temperature.
BILL - All I know is I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.
At 11:17 pm. Sgt. Welton confronted the Appellant with the allegation that he had sexually assaulted Valin’s sister Jean.
The Appellant vehemently denied this as well.
Finally, at 11:47 pm, the officers gave up their questioning of him.
On Monday morning, Sgt. Welton and P.C. Martynuck spoke to the Appellant again:
Detective WELTON - We thought we’d give you opportunity to tell us.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I know I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - Well we talked about it.
BILL - I didn’t do it man, you know I didn’t.
Detective WELTON - All the evidence says you did it.
BILL - I didn’t do it.
The officers left the cell are at 7:35 a.m. and as they did so the Mullins-Johnson yelled at them:
"I didn’t do it."
In these two cases, the police played Smith and the "experts" who backed up his opinions like a trump card when they questioned their suspects;
There is a serious question as to how many others may have decided to plead guilty to lesser offences in relation to their dead children after their lawyer's warned them that they would likely be convicted of murder - and go to prison for life - after the judge or jury heard evidence from the renowned Dr. Smith.
Who could blame them?
Harold Levy...hlevy@gmail.com;
In Nicholas' case, for example, Sergeant West tells Lianne:
"That's the end of it – you have to understand that these people, they’re professionals who – the pathologist, the head pathologist for Ontario.
I mean this is a man who’s not making idle speculation, this is a man who knows and who has empowered that knowledge to us that his death was not natural.
That’s the reality of it.
And I – I mean, I don’t ant to sit here and have, you know, endless rounds of speculation of what kind of natural things we both know that’s not true.
It wasn’t a natural death."
Similarly, the following exchange occurs during the post-arrest interrogation of Mullins-Johnson:
"Detective WELTON - Someone put too much pressure on her neck and chest, she couldn’t breathe and she died.
BILL - I didn’t do it.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - Doctors are experts".
Later in the interrogation, Detective Welton returns to the same theme that experts are infallible(so why not confess?), as follows:
"Detective WELTON - Sometimes these things happen.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - More and more points to you.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - The experts are pointing towards you.
BILL - Could there be a small error in [the time of her] death? (There turned out to be a huge error in the expert's calculation of the time of Valin's death. H.L.);
Detective WELTON - Very small, it’s between 8:00 and 10:00 pm.
BILL - Could be wrong.
Detective WELTON - They can narrow it down pretty good. They can’t pinpoint exactly, but pretty close. They do it by taking her temperature. (If only that was the case! H.L.)
BILL - All I know is I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.
For the benefit of the readers of this Blog, here is a portion of the interrogation of Bill Mullins-Johnson - an innocent man - by Sault Ste. Marie police.
To this Blogster it is notable that Mullins-Johnson does not at any time ask for a lawyer.
How many people in police custody after being charged with first-degree murder would allow the police to question them without the protection of a lawyer?
Likewise, Lianne Gagnon allows the police to question her thoroughly without either a lawyer or her parents being present - until the point where the two officers lean on her a bit too hard.
By way of context, at 6:30 p.m. Sgt. Welton arrested the Appellant for the first degree murder and aggravated sexual assault of Valin.
Mullins-Johnson called to his brother Paul (Valin's father) to find him a lawyer, and kept repeating “I didn’t do nothing”.
Once in the police car, he was described by the officers as crying, sobbing and hysterical.
En route to the police station, police notes indicate that he said:
– I didn’t do it
– I wouldn’t hurt that little girl
– You got nothing, you got fuck all, what have you got on me man, nothing, you got fuck all
– I didn’t touch her, she went to bed and that’s that.
At 6:40 p.m., in the booking room, the Appellant was told how Valin died, and at what time.
He replied:
I was doing dishes, watching TV. I put John to bed at 8:00.
Valin went to bed by herself. I was the only other person in the house.
He was then allowed to speak to his lawyer on the telephone.
At 7:07 p.m., Mr. Mullins-Johnson was spoken to by Sgt. Welton and P.C. Martynuck in an interview room.
Unfortunately, neither this interview nor any of the later ones were taped in any way.
Rather, as P.C. Martynuck wrote in her willsay, she recorded them “in her notebook to the best of [her] ability”.
Throughout this interview the Appellant continually protested his innocence.
Here is a portion of the transcript:
Detective WELTON - Could you help us in who did it?
BILL - Wasn’t me, wasn’t me, didn’t do it, didn’t do it. (pause) I just want to go to sleep.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - Did you ever touch Valin?
BILL - Thought never crossed my mind.
Detective WELTON - Is there anything you want to ask me?
BILL - No.
Detective WELTON - Was Valin a good kid?
BILL - Sometimes, she had a zest for life.
Detective WELTON - Do you understand why you’re here?
BILL - Yeah, but I don’t want to be here.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - What are you thinking?
BILL - Police force is a disgrace.
Detective WELTON - Why?
BILL - Cause it’s a disgrace. I’m innocent, I’m innocent.
Detective WELTON - But you don’t want to help us in who did it if it wasn’t you?
BILL - I’m innocent, I didn’t do anything
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - You live there Bill, why would anyone do this?
BILL - Sick, deranged.
Detective WELTON - Someone like that probably needs help.
BILL - (whispers) - Yeah
Detective WELTON - Do you get along with Kim?
BILL - Yeah;
Detective WELTON - What about Paul?
BILL - I live there don’t I. I wouldn’t live there if we didn’t get along.
The interview concluded at 7:34 pm. ..
At 10:26 p.m., the two officers tried again. The interview began:
Detective WELTON - How do you feel?
BILL - I didn’t do it.24
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - We know you did it.
BILL - I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - You know the sexual assault stuff happened.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it, I could be doing life for something I didn’t do.
Detective WELTON - If you didn’t do it, who did?
BILL - I put John to bed, went by Valin and shut the door, went down, did dishes.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - Did you take a shower today?
BILL - Yeah.
Detective WELTON - I just asked, that’s all. What are you thinking?
BILL - Why this is happening. I didn’t do it man, I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - You know Valin has passed away.
BILL - Yeah, I know. I don’t know how.
Detective WELTON - What were you wearing last night?
BILL - This and this (indicating clothes he had on).
Detective WELTON - Who got the kids in bath and pyjamas?
BILL - Kim did.
Detective WELTON - If I told you Bill, that ah, someone has been sexually assaulting Valin for a long time, who would I talk to?
BILL - It wasn’t me.
I didn’t do it.
I don’t know.
I never ever sexually touched those kids in anyway.
The thought never crossed my mind.
I lost a niece man.
I know for a fact I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it, didn’t do it.
If you said someone’s been assaulting her I want to know.
Detective WELTON - We don’t know the family.
BILL - I don’t know. Valin is precious. Valin was, she is, how would I say this, Valin would go with anyone, she loved everyone. She’d go off with strangers.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - Valin is a tiny girl.
BILL - She loved her Uncle Bill, she loved me because she loved me for me, she’d see me down the road, run up to me and say she loved me.
And all of that is gone?
People are saying I did it.
I’ll go to court for it. I didn’t do it.
I didn’t fuckin do it. I’ve been to court for 2 years, I’ll fuckin do it (Bill is very irate and upset at this point).
BILL - I’d never hurt a child.
Detective WELTON - If you want to tell me about you, go ahead.
BILL - Kids love me unconditionally. I love being around kids. I watch TV with them, especially Valin. She loved cartoons. I don’t know how she died.
Detective WELTON - She died of suffocation.
BILL - Kim told me she died when she puked.
Detective WELTON - Someone put too much pressure on her neck and chest, she couldn’t breathe and she died.
BILL - I didn’t do it.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON - Doctors are experts.
BILL - I don’t know. If she died between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. (20:00 - 22:00 hours) I would have heard something.
I was there, left between 1:30 and 3:00 a.m. (01:30 and 03:00 hours).
Detective WELTON - Don’t get upset.
BILL - I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - Is it possible or have you ever done something and not remembered it?
BILL - No possibility, never happened.
Detective WELTON - Never blacked out?
BILL - Never, I’ll tell the Crown to fuck off.
If you want me to go to court and jail for society I will.
I loved her unconditionally. I’ll go to jail for her, but I didn’t do it. You’ve got to fuckin prove it.
I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it.
This hurt[s] too much.
Detective WELTON - I know it.
BILL - I dreamt about Valin.
She was at the cell door.
I just want whoever did this to be where I am, because I didn’t do it.
. . . . .
Detective WELTON -Black out, didn’t black out?
BILL - No, I put John to bed, shut Valin’s door, went downstairs, watched TV and did the dishes.
The Appellant asked Sgt. Welton:
BILL - Do you think this could be crib death?
Detective WELTON - No.
BILL - Freak accident?
Detective WELTON - No, this was someone using force.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it. I’m scared man, I don’t want to go to Kingston, I don’t want P.C. I don’t want no wacko ward.
Detective WELTON - Sometimes these things happen.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - More and more points to you.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - The experts are pointing towards you.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it. I don’t know what happened to her, if I knew, I would tell you. I wouldn’t go down for this for someone else. I want to go to bed. ..
The Appellant, who at this point was crying and, as was apparent to the police, very upset, was asked to review the interview that he had given to Sgt. Welton that morning. He did so and added:
BILL - When Valin was on the couch she covered up herself with a blanket.
She got it from the corner.
Detective WELTON - One of those ones you’d use [on] kids.
BILL - It was the one she was wrapped in, I used it on the couch. She was tired and walked up staggering. She was that tired.
P.C. Martynuck recorded that the Appellant “started crying softly when reading about finding Valin’s body”.
The Appellant reiterated that no one went upstairs while he was babysitting. The conversation continued:
BILL - Could there be a small error in [the time of her] death?
Detective WELTON - Very small, it’s between 8:00 and 10:00 pm.
BILL - Could be wrong.
Detective WELTON - They can narrow it down pretty good. They can’t pinpoint exactly, but pretty close. They do it by taking her temperature.
BILL - All I know is I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.
At 11:17 pm. Sgt. Welton confronted the Appellant with the allegation that he had sexually assaulted Valin’s sister Jean.
The Appellant vehemently denied this as well.
Finally, at 11:47 pm, the officers gave up their questioning of him.
On Monday morning, Sgt. Welton and P.C. Martynuck spoke to the Appellant again:
Detective WELTON - We thought we’d give you opportunity to tell us.
BILL - I didn’t do it, I know I didn’t do it.
Detective WELTON - Well we talked about it.
BILL - I didn’t do it man, you know I didn’t.
Detective WELTON - All the evidence says you did it.
BILL - I didn’t do it.
The officers left the cell are at 7:35 a.m. and as they did so the Mullins-Johnson yelled at them:
"I didn’t do it."
In these two cases, the police played Smith and the "experts" who backed up his opinions like a trump card when they questioned their suspects;
There is a serious question as to how many others may have decided to plead guilty to lesser offences in relation to their dead children after their lawyer's warned them that they would likely be convicted of murder - and go to prison for life - after the judge or jury heard evidence from the renowned Dr. Smith.
Who could blame them?
Harold Levy...hlevy@gmail.com;
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