David Yates’s trial without a jury for second-degree murder continued on Wednesday in St. Thomas with testimony from the forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Caitlin Jennings.
Dr. Michael Shkrum detailed many injuries he found on Jennings’ body, which included bruises and severe cuts to her head, face, back, and arms.
Images presented in court showed over 50 wounds on Jennings’ back alone, along with similar injuries across her head, arms, and face. Overall, Shkrum stated he identified around 200 distinct wounds on her body.
Shkrum testified that some of these injuries looked like defensive wounds, including fractures found in her wrists and hands.
A lot of the wounds were crescent-shaped and had similar sizes and shapes.
Crown attorney James Spangenberg questioned Shkrum about whether the crescent-shaped wounds could have been made by a hammer, referencing specific measurements of two hammers discovered at the scene.
Shkrum replied that he couldn’t definitively state that hammers caused the wounds. However, he noted that the dimensions matched those of the hammer heads shown in court.
The official cause of death listed in his report is multiple blunt-force trauma injuries. Shkrum explained that these injuries could have resulted in death through several means such as hemorrhagic shock or concussion. He added that they might also lead to a fat embolism when fat droplets enter the bloodstream and block blood vessels after trauma.
Even though there was a knife located on the coffee table where Jennings’s body was found, Shkrum indicated that there weren’t any visible stab or slicing wounds on her body.
He also informed the court that toxicology tests revealed cocaine was present in Jennings’s blood.
Yates’s lawyer Cassandra De Melo started her cross-examination of Shkrum after lunch. She asked him if one injury Jennings sustained-a broken ulna bone-could have been caused by someone attempting to apply a choke hold.
Shkrum mentioned he couldn’t be certain but admitted there “are other possibilities” for how she could have broken her arm aside from it being a defensive wound while trying to protect herself during an attack.
His testimony is expected to carry on until court concludes for the day.
Danny Jennings, Caitlin’s father who has been present since Monday when the trial started, broke down in tears when autopsy photos of his daughter were displayed in court.
The court has previously heard that Jennings was discovered dead on the living room floor of a house located in the 500-block of Kingsway Avenue shortly after Yates made a confessional 911 call on July 5, 2023. At just 22 years old, Jennings was involved romantically with Yates who is now 53 years old.
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Danny Jennings leaves the St. Thomas courtroom on Tuesday where the man accused of murdering his daughter Caitlin Jennings is facing trial for second-degree murder. (Andrew Lupton/CBC News)
Crown prosecutor Cara Douglas stated during her opening remarks that Jennings died after being struck multiple times with a hammer.
Yates has pleaded not guilty. On Monday it was revealed he had offered to plead guilty to manslaughter instead but this plea was turned down by the Crown.
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