Defence suggests mother killed baby Cohen Smith

The mother of a murdered baby was back in court in Hamilton today.

And a crown prosecutor was trying to block any attempt to shift the blame for the killing onto her — and away from the man who’s charged with the murder.

Little Cohen Smith’s mother Mary Smith was back on the stand. Her former live-in boyfriend Terry Legacy is charged with murder. But for starters, the judge told the jury that Legacy’s defence lawyers might introduce evidence that someone else committed the murder, with Legacy saying Mary Smith may have killed her own child. The judge told the jury they’ll have to decide whether Smith’s involvement raises a reasonable doubt about whether Legacy is guilty.

Little Cohen Smith was only six weeks old when he died while he was in Legacy’s care in 2008. Legacy is charged with second-degree murder in that death. He’s also charged with aggravated assault for an injury suffered by another one of Smith’s children, Dantae, in 2007 – a broken hip.

On the stand this afternoon, the Crown asked Mary Smith if she caused any of the injuries to that child. She replied “absolutely not.” The prosecutor then asked if she caused any of the injuries to the baby who died. Again, she said “no, absolutely not.” Defence lawyer Greg Leslie then began cross-examining Smith about her relationship with Legacy, stressing that she trusted him to look after her young children.

Earlier, the trial heard from a surgeon at McMaster Children’s hospital, Dr Devin Peterson, that the hip injuries suffered by the first child looked like they were from child abuse. The defence asked if the fracture could have been caused by a fall from a bunkbed or a staircase. The doctor said anything’s possible, but that it was highly unlikely.

This trial continues tomorrow with the mother Mary Smith back on the stand.

Video: Al Sweeney reports: