Post by RealPitBull on Jan 25, 2008 9:25:10 GMT -5
Police believed mother killed girl, officer says; Investigators felt Reynolds, pit bull took part in fatal attack, inquiry told
When prosecutors withdrew a murder charge against a Kingston woman seven years ago, police still believed she was a killer, a provincial inquiry has heard.
"We felt that the mother and the dog took part in the attack of the little girl in the basement, that was based on all of the evidence, not just the pathology evidence," Insp. Brian Begbie testified yesterday at hearings in Toronto.
It is the first time police have spoken publicly about the controversial case since it dissolved in 2001 amid conflicting medical opinions and allegations of a coverup.
Louise Reynolds was charged in 1997 with killing her seven-year-old daughter, Sharon. The child's mutilated body was found in the basement of the family home on June 12.
She had suffered more than 80 injuries and a large portion of her scalp was torn from her head.
Crown experts said she was stabbed to death, but other experts concluded a dog, a pit bull that was in the basement that night, mauled her to death.
Prosecutors decided they couldn't clearly establish a cause of death so they decided to withdraw the charge. Police still thought the case should go to trial since they had a substantial amount of circumstantial evidence.
"We felt strongly in the eyes of that other evidence, we might not have the sequence right of what took place downstairs, but we have the right individual," Begbie told the inquiry.
Begbie did not say if he still believes today that Reynolds was involved in the killing, but he refuses to accept that all of the injuries Sharon suffered were caused by a dog.
"Not one defence expert has been able to say definitively all of these wounds were caused by a dog," he testified during cross-examination by Peter Wardle, a lawyer who acts for Reynolds.
Wardle pointed out that some medical experts believe that marks on the child's skull that could not be explained by a dog attack were accidental cuts made during the first autopsy.
When prosecutors withdrew a murder charge against a Kingston woman seven years ago, police still believed she was a killer, a provincial inquiry has heard.
"We felt that the mother and the dog took part in the attack of the little girl in the basement, that was based on all of the evidence, not just the pathology evidence," Insp. Brian Begbie testified yesterday at hearings in Toronto.
It is the first time police have spoken publicly about the controversial case since it dissolved in 2001 amid conflicting medical opinions and allegations of a coverup.
Louise Reynolds was charged in 1997 with killing her seven-year-old daughter, Sharon. The child's mutilated body was found in the basement of the family home on June 12.
She had suffered more than 80 injuries and a large portion of her scalp was torn from her head.
Crown experts said she was stabbed to death, but other experts concluded a dog, a pit bull that was in the basement that night, mauled her to death.
Prosecutors decided they couldn't clearly establish a cause of death so they decided to withdraw the charge. Police still thought the case should go to trial since they had a substantial amount of circumstantial evidence.
"We felt strongly in the eyes of that other evidence, we might not have the sequence right of what took place downstairs, but we have the right individual," Begbie told the inquiry.
Begbie did not say if he still believes today that Reynolds was involved in the killing, but he refuses to accept that all of the injuries Sharon suffered were caused by a dog.
"Not one defence expert has been able to say definitively all of these wounds were caused by a dog," he testified during cross-examination by Peter Wardle, a lawyer who acts for Reynolds.
Wardle pointed out that some medical experts believe that marks on the child's skull that could not be explained by a dog attack were accidental cuts made during the first autopsy.