Baby who died in 2020 had broken clavicle, bleeding brain: medical expert
Infant’s father has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, aggravated assault
An infant who was rushed to hospital unresponsive in January 2020 and later died had suffered extensive injuries, including a broken clavicle, a medical expert testified on Tuesday during the trial of the boy's father.
Dr. Jayson Stoffman said that when he assessed three-month-old Maven Gillis Moreau in hospital on Jan. 13, 2020, he determined the baby had also developed a secondary bleeding disorder, a condition that can cause the body to have difficulty clotting blood after a serious incident that causes a lot of bleeding.
Previous examinations had also found swelling and bleeding of the brain from a head injury, Stoffman said.
Stoffman, an expert in pediatric bleeding disorders, said while it's hard to say exactly how significant an injury has to be to cause that kind of bleeding disorder, "a minor bump or a bruise isn't going to do it."
"An injury that will cause bleeding that is significant enough that it keeps going … these are typically car accidents, major traumas that develop secondary bleeding disorders," Stoffman said.
Mathieu Moreau, who was in court for Tuesday's proceedings, is on trial before Court of King's Bench Justice Sadie Bond for manslaughter and aggravated assault in connection with his son's death.
The baby was put on life support and later died after being found unconscious while Moreau was watching him in their Winnipeg apartment on Jan. 11, 2020. Moreau, 34, has pleaded not guilty.
Defence lawyer Kaitlynn Porath asked Stoffman few questions on cross examination during the judge-alone trial on Tuesday, mainly focusing on the fact that the doctor agreed with the defence's own medical expert's assessment that Maven had a secondary bleeding disorder.
During trial last week, Maven's mother – Evelyn Gillis, 26 – broke down in the witness box and spoke through tears as she looked at photos of her now deceased infant son.
Court heard Gillis and Moreau lived together in a Winnipeg apartment at the time of the baby's death.
Gillis testified that in the weeks before their son died, Maven was injured multiple times while Moreau was watching him on his own.
That included an incident a day before Maven was rushed to hospital, Gillis testified, when she returned home and found the baby had a puffy upper lip and saw blood inside his mouth from a torn frenulum (the connective tissue in the mouth) after Moreau had been watching him.
Gillis said she and Moreau had been dating for just over a year at the time of Maven's death, and the relationship ended after Moreau was arrested.
Later Tuesday, court heard from the doctor who treated Maven at the hospital for his torn frenulum. Dr. John Page testified that the baby had no signs of a head injury at that point.
Moreau's three-week trial continues this week.
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