CANADA • Baby E, 11 weeks old ~ Victoria BC

by karma Tue Dec 28, 2010 9:13 am

[color=#000000]Central Saanich man baby-shaking verdict to come next month

Infant in foster care left with permanent disabilities

A Victoria provincial court judge will decide in January whether Avtar
Basi violently shook an 11-week-old baby girl in frustration or whether her devastating injuries were caused by his misguided attempt to resuscitate her.

Basi, 33, is charged with the aggravated assault of Baby E on Nov. 26, 2008, in the Central Saanich foster home run by his girlfriend, Micheline Slader. The trial, which began in September, continued Wednesday with final submissions by Crown prosecutor Nils Jensen and defence lawyer John Green. Toward the end, Basi started to cry. Slader sat behind, patting him on the back.

The evidence clearly established that Basi applied force to Baby E and caused the injuries that resulted in her troubling, sad and permanent disability, Green told Judge Adrian Brooks. But in order to convict Basi, the court must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the force he used on Baby E was not done for the purpose of caring for her.

The court must also be satisfied that excessive force was used, said Green.
At trial, Basi testified that, on the morning of Nov. 26, the baby went limp and, in a panicked reaction, he shook her three times. "If you accept what Mr. Basi told you, he must be
acquitted," said Green. "This was a resuscitative attempt rather than anger." Green reviewed the evidence of medical experts including Dr. Katherine Wambera, who testified about breath-holding episodes. The spells, which are more common in toddlers and might affect about
three out of 1,000 infants, are marked by a period of loud crying, followed by a period of 15 to 30 seconds when the baby cannot get his or her breath. Wambera said she would not be surprised by a fearful reaction by an inexperienced caregiver witnessing a breath-holding
spell. Green also reminded the court that infants are physically frail, with their large heads and weak neck muscles. "You can get significant injury without application of a great deal of force," said Green. "Not very much force for an adult translates into a lot of force for an infant."

Both Basi and Slader liked the baby and wanted to adopt her, Green said. Baby E had no annoying or frustrating behaviour. There was no hint of abuse. "There is simply nothing before you to suggest this man would explosively go off and injure this infant," said Green. "This shaking occurred in a disastrous, tragic resuscitation attempt." Jensen reminded the court that Baby E suffered life-threatening traumatic brain injuries that destroyed half her brain. Basi knew that shaking could harm a baby, Jensen said. "Ms. Slader confirmed that he handled her appropriately by holding the back of her head when picking her up," he said.

At trial, three medical experts testified that any reasonable observer who witnessed the shaking of Baby E would know it would cause death or bodily harm, Jensen said. He urged Brooks to reject Basi's evidence that he tried to resuscitate Baby E because she stopped breathing. "The baby stopped breathing because of the shaking, not before the shaking," argued Jensen.
Nothing was troubling this child, the prosecutor said. She was a perfectly healthy baby and it is very rare for a baby younger than six months to experience breath-holding spells. On the other hand, Baby E's cessation of breathing is completely consistent with very violent shaking. It is clear from the evidence, the more violent the shaking, the more quickly the symptoms of severe head trauma appear, Jensen said. In court and in conversation with an undercover officer who befriended him, Basi minimized how hard he shook the infant, Jensen said. Even defence witness, Dr. Charles Ferguson, director of the Child Protection Centre at the Winnipeg Children's Hospital, who watched five videos clips of Basi demonstrating how hard he shook Baby E, said
it was unlikely such shaking would result in any injury.
Jensen also observed that Basi did not tell anyone including the dispatcher, Slader, paramedics, doctors or police that he tried to revive Baby E. Eventually, he told the undercover officer he shook the baby out of frustration. "When he finally confessed, it was accompanied by heartfelt tears and remorse because it was the truth," Jensen said.

Read more: [url=http://www.timescolonist.com/Central Saanich baby shaking verdict come next month/3965374/story.html#ixzz19ObgIARM]http://www.timescolonist.com/Central Saanich baby shaking verdict come next month/3965374/story.html#ixzz19ObgIARM[/url]

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Not guilty verdict in trial of man accused of violently shaking baby
January 28, 2011 5:01 PM

Victoria, B.C. - A man accused of violently shaking an 11-week old baby in frustration, causing permanent brain damage, was found not guilty in Victoria provincial court Friday.

Avtar Basi, 33, charged with the aggravated assault of Baby E.B. on Nov. 26, 2008, in the Central Saanich foster home run by his girlfriend, Micheline Slader, left the courthouse Friday in tears, holding his girlfriend’s hand.

Dressed in a suit, Basi sat pensively in the front row of the courthouse listening as Judge Adrian Brooks read his 37-page verdict.

Slader sat a few rows back, tightly clenching the hand of a friend. When the verdict was read, Basi eyes began to well with tears.

“While Mr. Basi obviously bears a heavy moral responsibility for what he has done to the life of this child, E.B., it is not established that his is a criminal responsibility under our law and I find him not guilty,” Brooks said as he read his verdict to the court over the course of an hour.

At trial, Basi testified that, on the morning of Nov. 26, 2008, the baby went limp and, in a panicked reaction, he shook her three times.

The evidence during the trial clearly established that Basi applied force to Baby E.B. and caused the injuries that resulted in her devastating and permanent disability.

However, the court had to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the force he used on Baby E.B. was not done for the purpose of caring for the infant and that excessive force was used.

Judge Brooks ruled the Crown failed to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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