Father acquitted in daughter’s death
Judge calls child a victim of abuse
A four-year-old Calgary girl was a victim of child abuse but it’s not clear she was murdered, a judge ruled Wednesday in acquitting her father.
Justice Suzanne Bensler said it was clear Rebekah Oluwafemi had been physically abused in the days and weeks leading up to her Dec. 19, 2014, death.
But Bensler said the spinal injury that ultimately stopped the child from breathing and caused a cardiac arrest could have come from a fall.
“Do I believe the accused when he said the injury was from a fall off the stairs?” Bensler said, in reviewing phone calls the dad, Oluwatosin Oluwafemi, had after the girl’s death.
“I do not know,” the Court of Queen’s Bench judge said.
Bensler noted Oluwafemi didn’t mention a fall, to either emergency responders or doctors, when Rebekah was rushed to hospital after she stopped breathing and her heart stopped at their Erin Woods home.
“He does not mention the fall until a few weeks later,” she said.
“He does admit that Rebekah died on his watch.”
But the judge noted Oluwafemi was described as extremely distraught as medical staff tried frantically to save her.
In reviewing the evidence, Bensler said two forensic pathologists categorized the manner of the child’s death as homicide from blunt trauma injuries.
The blow that caused her death injured her spinal cord and cut off both her breathing and heart activity.
But Bensler said neither Milroy nor Dr. Bamidele Adeagbo could rule out the possibility the fatal injury occurred in a fall.
Milroy testified the child had bruising all over her body, but all but those related to the fatal injury could have been days old.
The child’s mother, Olubusola (Itunu) Oluwafemi, who was at work when the fatal injury occurred, admitted regularly physically punishing Rebekah.
She said the strength of the blows she inflicted on the girl depended on how angry she was, and described her daughter as “cunning” and “naughty.”
In her final arguments, defence counsel Rebecca Snukal suggested the Crown had prosecuted the wrong parent.
Bensler noted there was no evidence the accused abused his daughter, but the mother wasn’t home when the fatal injury happened.
“I am sure that Rebekah was a victim of child abuse” she said.
“I’m not sure whether the accused, the victim’s mother or both caused the bruising.”