Prosecutor argues for manslaughter conviction in death of one-year-old
Warning: this story contains descriptions of child abuse.
Lawyers offered contrasting accounts Friday of how a one-yearold boy ended up dead at the hands of his father at the closing of the man's trial.
Defence lawyer Rory Ziv said 33-year- old Damien Starrett should be found not criminally responsible for his son Ares's death in November 2019. Ziv argued that a sleep disorder put the Fort Saskatchewan man in a state of “automatism” incapable of comprehending his actions when he injured his daughter and killed his son.
During the trial, Starrett testified in his own defence that he has no memory of hurting his children, saying he fell asleep on the couch while caring for them. He said he dreamt he was being attacked, and awoke to find his son severely injured.
Starrett testified that he had been struggling with chronic back pain and extreme difficulty sleeping, and despite seeking medical help and taking a cocktail of medications, he couldn't find relief.
Under cross-examination, he admitted to self-medicating his pain with illegally obtained Percocet and heroin.
Ziv argued that sleep problems, drug withdrawal symptoms and family stress created a “crescendo” that led to disaster, considering Starrett has a “proclivity” for a severe sleep disorder. A sleep expert that assessed Starrett found he has the “thumbprint” of parasomnia, a series of disorders that can include abnormal actions you're unaware of while asleep.
“Would a normal person have been susceptible to the state Mr. Starrett was in on the day in question? I think the answer, respectfully, I submit, is no, absolutely not,” Ziv said.
Ziv pointed to Starrett's documented history of sleep issues, his numerous attempts to seek help and a lack of evidence of previous violence toward his children.
“This is a man with three years of complaints, and that's only the complaint where he goes to the doctor,” he said. “This is a man that struggled, this is a man trying.”
Starrett was charged with second-degree murder in his son's death, and he was also charged with assault for punching his older daughter, who was five at the time, and whose identity is protected by a publication ban.
The Crown argued Friday that the judge presiding over the case should find Starrett guilty of manslaughter, a lesser offence than second-degree murder.
Crown prosecutor Sandra Christensen-moore said that the numerous Percocet pills Starrett said he took in the 24 hours before Ares's death could have rendered him too intoxicated to form the intent for second-degree murder.
“The Crown acknowledges that there doesn't seem to be a real motive for this crime. However, following the commission of an offence there can be a motive to reinvent how it happened,” she said.
“(Starrett) had rage control issues that he had tried to address previously ... it would remain repressed for long periods and then it would be explosive. That finding is not inconsistent with the Crown's theory of the case of what happened.”
Christensen-moore also said inconsistencies in Starrett's testimony undermine his reliability.
As Ziv finished his statement, he underlined the difficulty of the case.
“To say that this is a sad case does not capture the tragedy of this case,” he said. “Both (Ares's mother) and Mr. Starrett are going to live with a lifetime of hurt, regret, shame and guilt over what happened.”
People who are found not criminally responsible are typically confined to psychiatric hospitals, with their release governed by the Alberta Review Board.
The judge is expected to give a decision in the case June 29.