Father who killed infant son didn't intend to cause his death: judge
Calgary father Anthony Karl Kurucz didn't intend to kill his infant son when he violently shook him and threw him onto a couch, a judge ruled Tuesday in finding him guilty of manslaughter.
Justice Glen Poelman said the Crown failed to establish Kurucz had a murderous intent when he assaulted Jayden Cyluck Kurucz on April 24, 2018.
“The Crown … relies on the nature of what Mr. Kurucz did to Jayden as proof that he intended to cause him bodily harm that he knew was likely to kill Jayden, and was reckless whether that happened,” Poelman said, in outlining one of the ways murder can be proven.
“However, I am not convinced that the nature of what Mr. Kurucz did establishes that intent beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said, in rejecting the theory of Crown prosecutors Hyatt Mograbee and Alexandra Russell.
Defence lawyer Darren Mahoney had argued for an outright acquittal, arguing the three-month-old boy's fatal brain injuries could have been caused by his mother, Brylee Cyluck, before leaving the child in Kurucz's care.
But Poelman said that based on the medical evidence called by the prosecutors, the symptoms the boy displayed when emergency services arrived — including not breathing — would have occurred quickly after he was assaulted and after Cyluck left him in the offender's care.
The Court of King's Bench judge also said a confession given by Kurucz to an undercover officer during a police sting was consistent with the injuries the child suffered.
“The very emotional and detailed description and demonstration Mr. Kurucz gave to Sgt. D tend to show that he spoke truthfully and wanted to unburden himself of a difficult secret,” Poelman said.
The judge said text messages Kurucz sent Cyluck after the child was injured also supported the conclusion he inflicted Jayden's wounds.”
“Mr. Kurucz's explanations about how he was feeling — panicky, lost it, angry and frustrated — line up with the contemporaneous text messages he exchanged with Ms. Cyluck to show he was frustrated and angry with a crying baby.”
Poelman said Kurucz's lack of experience with child care meant he would not have appreciated the harm he could cause by shaking the boy and throwing him into a couch.
“Mr. Kurucz was not experienced in caring for young infants and presumably had no particular knowledge of the frailty of their neck support and brain structure.”
The child was rushed to hospital with serious brain trauma after Kurucz called 911 shortly after noon on April 24, 2018. The boy was taken off life support three days later.
A date for Kurucz's sentencing hearing will be set April 5.