HALIFAX - A neuropathologist says he can't definitively determine whether a baby who died two years was shaken or struck.
Dr. Robert Macaulay testified Tuesday that he examined the seven-week-old child's brain, spinal chord and eyes before completing a report in November 2009, four months after Aurora Breakthrough died.
Ashiqur Rahman, the infant's father, has pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter and aggravated assault in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
The baby's mother, Jane Gomes, pleaded guilty last year to a charge of failing to provide the necessities of life and received a conditional discharge with six months of probation. She testified last week that she witnessed Rahman slapping and shaking their baby.
Aurora died on July 27, 2009, in a Halifax hospital.
Macaulay said he provided a pathologist's report to medical examiner Marnie Wood, who concluded "non accidental trauma" was the cause of death.
Macaulay also said there were "cavitations" in the brain tissue -- meaning tears that left gaps in the brain -- which occurred more than two weeks before the child's death.
He testified at the trial by judge alone that he defers to Dr. William Halliday, who submitted another report that concluded trauma was the likeliest cause of the damage to the brain tissue.
Crown prosecutor Mark Heerema asked Macaulay if he agreed that some of the signs of trauma are different for children than they are for adults in brain injuries.
Macaulay agreed there were differences and said some of the signs of head trauma he was looking for are less common in children.
Outside court, Heerema said Macaulay's testimony supports the Crown's medical evidence.
Defence lawyer Donald Murray said outside court the pathologist showed that while there is evidence the child suffered some form of violence weeks prior to her death, there isn't proof that's why she died.
The trial resumes on Monday.
