Final Crown witness testifies at Goforth murder trial

The man who performs autopsies in all suspicious deaths in Saskatchewan has taken the stand in the second-degree murder trial of Tammy and Kevin Goforth in Regina.

Dr. Shawn Ladham is the final Crown witness on day 8 of a trial that's scheduled to run for three weeks.

• LIVE BLOG: CBC coversday 8 of theGoforth trial

The Goforths are accused in the 2012 death of a four-year-old girl. They've also been charged with causing bodily harm to her two-year-old sister.

The names of the girls, who where in the care of the Goforths in 2012,can't be published under a court ban.

On Wednesday, Ladham described one area on the dead girl's shoulder with an absence of skin could have been caused by binding on that area.

He told court about injuries near her mouth that appeared as though her lips had been pressed back onto her teeth.

The forensic pathologist cautioned jurors twice that while his job is not always as simple as it appears on TV shows such as CSI, there are ways they can determine what has happened to a person leading up to and after their death.

The defence and Crown lawyersagree the four-year-old girl was pronounced brain dead and life support was turned off on Aug. 2.

Court heard previously that the girlwas suffering from malnutrition and dehydration when she arrived at the hospital.