Baby suffered repeated injuries jury told at Oshawa murder trial
Published November 15, 2021 at 3:42 pm
The trial of a man charged with second-degree murder in the death of an Oshawa baby began last week. Over the course of the hearings, the Crown alleged Kaleb McKay was repeatedly injured in the months leading up to his death at nine months of age.
Kaleb died in December 2016 after police found him unresponsive in the Robson Street, Oshawa apartment he lived with his mother, Jordan Brownell, his young sister and Denim Henderson, his mother’s boyfriend.
Henderson has been charged with second-degree murder.
Henderson had moved into the home in September. It was after this date, the Crown argued, that Kaleb began to suffer his injuries.
An autopsy conducted after the toddler’s death found he had fractures in his skull, leg, arm, ribs and spine and bruises across his body. Some of these injuries evidently had time to begin healing, according to the report.
Crown prosecutor Mareike Newhouse asserted in court that these injuries were likely sustained when Kaleb was under Henderson’s care, saying that prior to Henderson’s arrival, “Kaleb had by all accounts been a happy, healthy baby.”
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Kaleb’s injuries culminated in his death on December 29 as Tina Sanders, the responding officer that night, said in her testimony. When she arrived she said she found Henderson in the bathroom, running water on Kaleb’s head.
Officers attempted CPR, but could not revive him. Sanders testified that Henderson wept uncontrollably after he was told Kaleb had died. Sanders said, “He stated, ‘It’s all my fault’. This I remember specifically.”
Kaleb McKay was then taken to an ambulance. Responding EMT Andrew Um told the court he only saw a flatline on the monitor.
Officers initially treated the investigation as a sudden death, but after the autopsy found McKay’s healing wounds they immediately switched gears to a homicide investigation. The apartment was locked down after a search warrant was issued.
When officers executed the search warrant in January they pulled numerous seemingly blood-stained items, including the boy’s crib mattress. The staining of the mattress matched Kaleb’s DNA profile.
Brownell and Henderson were arrested nearly 18 months later after an extensive investigation. Henderson was charged with second-degree murder, failing to provide the necessities of life and aggravated assault.
Henderson was visibly weeping during his bail hearing shortly afterward. His lawyer, Sandip Khehra, said Henderson was, “shocked” and “very upset,” by the charges. He pled not guilty to all charges.
The trial continues in Oshawa Superior Court.
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