Manitoba·New
The proceedings of a begetter accused of sidesplitting his babe girl successful 2016 heard closing arguments Wednesday, arsenic the Crown said circumstantial grounds makes his guilt wide but the defence argued it provides tenable doubt.
Keifer Mecas pleaded not blameworthy to manslaughter successful decease of 3-month-old daughter, Haelin Taylor
Chelsea Kemp · CBC News
· Posted: Apr 23, 2025 6:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago
The proceedings of a begetter accused of sidesplitting his babe girl successful 2016 heard closing arguments Wednesday, arsenic the Crown said circumstantial grounds makes his guilt clear, but the defence argued it provides tenable doubt.
The authoritative told the justice grounds showed the babe had "significant carnal trauma," saying Keifer Mecas, 34, killed Haelin Taylor, his three-month-old daughter, by violently shaking her successful aboriginal 2016.
His lawyer argued that determination was a tenable uncertainty arsenic to whether his lawsuit caused the baby's death.
Mecas has pleaded not blameworthy to manslaughter. His judge-alone trial, held earlier Justice Scott Abel at Court of King's Bench successful Brandon, Man., began connected April 16.
Haelin died on Jan. 23, 2016, astir 3 weeks after Virden RCMP were called astir an babe successful aesculapian distress astatine a location successful Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, astir 40 kilometres westbound of Brandon.
The babe was rushed to infirmary successful captious information but aboriginal died from her injuries.
RCMP deemed her decease a homicide. Both of Haelin's parents were questioned by police, and Mecas was charged 7 years aboriginal aft aggregate witnesses alleged helium confessed successful 2022 to hurting her.
Medical experts presented grounds Tuesday indicating the infant's fatal wounded apt happened connected Jan. 4, 2016, the aforesaid time she was taken to hospital.
Crown lawyer Jennifer Neufeld urged the justice to enactment his assurance successful their evidence, which she argued shows Mecas is guilty.
Medical experts testified that the injuries indicated important carnal trauma had occurred that would person caused the babe to go unresponsive wrong seconds. Based connected their severity, it appeared the injuries were caused by accelerated acceleration and deceleration, the experts said.
They besides described Haelin arsenic having nary disposable brushed insubstantial oregon bony injuries — but recovered important bleeding successful her brain, optical nerve, retina and spinal cord during her autopsy, Neufeld said.
She told the justice Haelin's injuries pointed to accordant convulsive shaking of the baby, and aesculapian experts couldn't picture different crushed for the injuries during the autopsy.
"Mr. Mecas was unsocial with Haelin erstwhile she became unresponsive," Neufeld said.
The lone tenable decision was Mecas wounded her, adjacent if it was not intentional, making him blameworthy of manslaughter, Neufeld argued.
"There are immoderate things that we don't cognize astir what happened successful this case, things that we can't know," she said.
'Best that the Crown tin bash is speculate': defence
While Haelin's mother, Kara Taylor, 35, and Kara's relative Crystal Taylor, 39, gave inconsistent testimony on smaller details, they were accordant wherever it matters, Neufeld said.
Both testified Haelin had been steadfast erstwhile she was near unsocial with Mecas, and she was successful aesculapian distress erstwhile they returned. They besides testified that Mecas had confessed successful 2022 to hurting Haelin.
In interrogations with police, Mecas confirmed helium had been unsocial with Haelin earlier her aesculapian distress, Neufeld besides said.
Defence lawyer Andrew Synyshyn said successful his closing arguments that Mecas besides repeatedly told constabulary helium didn't wounded his daughter.
While aesculapian experts testified Hailin's injuries were apt from accelerated acceleration and deceleration, they couldn't accidental what caused it — and that means her injuries could person travel from an accidental question oregon unintentional action, Synyshyn argued.
"The champion that the Crown tin bash is speculate that possibly the babe was shaken," Synyshyn told the judge. "They can't accidental again without immoderate grade of certainty what precisely caused the injuries."
In the end, determination are much questions than answers astir what happened to Haelin, Synyshyn said.
"There is aesculapian grounds that immoderate trauma has occurred," helium said. "What? We don't know."
The seven-year-long probe failed to output immoderate caller information, speech from Kara's and Crystal's testimony, Synyshyn said arsenic helium ended his closing statement.
"This was a calamity successful the community. So however acold person we travel and what person we learned successful the 9 years astir what happened?" Synyshyn asked.
"We cognize thing much than we did successful astir January oregon July 2016."
Abel said helium volition merchandise his decision successful June.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chelsea Kemp is simply a multimedia writer with CBC Manitoba. She is based successful CBC's bureau successful Brandon, covering stories focused connected agrarian Manitoba. Share your communicative ideas, tips and feedback with [email protected].