Warning: Disturbing content
NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. -- The pathologist who examined seven-year-old Aaliyah Rosa took the stand Friday.
The child’s body was found next to the bathtub in her mother’s house on July 22, 2018. Her mother, Kerry Ann Lewis, is charged with first-degree murder in Rosa's death, and she has pleaded not guilty.
The Crown intends to prove Lewis sedated her daughter and drowned her in the bathtub.
Dr. Lisa Steele testified diphenhydramine and lorazepam were found in Rosa’s toxicology report, explaining that “both of these drugs are seen as depressants.”
Steele said there was water in the child's sinus cavity and "froth" in the airways. “It’s a finding which is supportive, it is not specific for drowning,” she explained. "It indicated there was fluid in the lungs.”
The court heard Rosa had bruising on her head and the muscles on the left side of her neck. “All of these findings lead to the conclusions that either there was some sort of pressure, or force applied to that side of the neck that resulted into fairly significant haemorrhages on that side,” Steele testified.
But the pathologist explained, using autopsy photos, that there were no visible marks or bruising on Rosa's skin, though did say there were bruises under her scalp.
She testified she didn’t think this was the sole cause of her death calling the degree of blunt force trauma to the head "mild."
The defence has not presented its case yet, or had a chance to cross examine this witness. Steele has not finished testifying in this case.
The trial is set to continue Monday and Rosa’s father, who testified this week that the child was happy and healthy the last time he dropped her off, is scheduled to be back on the stand.
