STORY: Brenda Waudby makes her case: Mother of murdered toddler Jenna Mellor claims police and Crown withheld evidence that would have cleared her name much sooner," by reporter Todd Vandonk, published on March 8, 2012, by "Peterborough this week."
GIST: "Throughout the investigation into Jenna's death, Ms Waudby adamantly denies beating her daughter the night before she died in January 1997. However, Ms. Waudby says police and Crown did their best to make her believe otherwise by deliberately withholding evidence and by fabricating medical evidence designed to implicate that Ms Waudby was a killer. In 2006, Jenna's babysitter that night pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 22 months in jail and 11 months house arrest, the maximum sentence for manslaughter under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The Crown had its killer after he confessed to an undercover police officer that he had killed Jenna. On Oct. 13, 2011 crown counsel Alison Wheeler disclosed a package of documents to Ms Waudby which included the transcript of the Dec. 16, 2005 confession of the babysitter. The transcript reads:
"Where did you punch her?," asked the officer.
"Right her," explained Jenna's killer, who can't be publicly identified because he was a minor when the crime took place.
"In her rib cage?," continued the officer.
"In her rib cage," admitted the babysitter.
Later in that same conversation, Jenna's killer owned up to using enough force to break Jenna's ribs. Ms Waudby argues that the confession points to a miscarriage of justice because the allegation of existing older rib injuries is why she pleaded guilty to child abuse. It was disgraced pediatric pathologist Dr. Charles Smith that pinpointed Jenna's fatal injuries, blunt force trauma to her abdomen which caused 13 broken ribs amongst other medical complications, to a time when Ms Waudby was at home taking care of her daughter. At an April 23, 1999 meeting between police, the Crown, defence, Dr. Smith and pathologist Sigmund Ein, it became clear that Ms Waudby couldn't have inflicted the fatal wounds on her daughter. Dr. Smith confirmed that he had spoken with Dr. Ein in 1998 and agreed with Dr. Ein's opinion that Jenna's fatal injury occurred while she was in the care of the babysitter. Ms Waudby alleges that police and the crown deliberately withheld that evidence from the Children's Aid Society (CAS) during child protection proceedings. Various documents, including notes from primary CAS worker Sylvia Sullivan, notes and an affidavit by child protection supervisor Jennifer Brown and notes by Det. Lemay, support these allegations."
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: It is clear from the evidence called at the Goudge inquiry that Brenda Waudby - an utterly innocent individual who's baby daughter had been murdered by her babysitter - had been required to plead guilty to a charge of child abuse under provincial legislation before the Crown would withdraw the the second-degree murder charge on the basis of medical opinions which showed she could not possibly have committed the crime. It is also clear that Dr. Charles Smith's opinion that there were injuries which preceded the attack on Baby Jenna - which led to her being wrongfully charged with murder - was also the basis for the provincial charge, along with what the police claimed to be a confession. Instead of receiving the sympathy and compassion she deserved as a grieving mother whose baby daughter had been murdered, Ms. Waudby, a grieving mother, was herself charged with the horrific crime and not surprisingly became a pariah in her community. Brenda Waudby has been given a raw deal by Ontario's criminal justice system. We can only hope that the Court will hurry up and finally and unequivocally clear her name;
HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG.
THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:
http://www.mykawartha.com/community/article/1313613--brenda-waudby-makes-her-casePUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I am monitoring this case. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.
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
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
