Baylee Wylie died from 'sharp force injuries,' pathologist testifies

The doctor who performed Baylee Wylie's autopsy testified Monday that he suffered more than 140 "sharp-force injuries," most of them while alive.

The 18-year-old was found with a punctured artery, heart, lung and liver, any of which would have been fatal, Dr. Ather Naseemuddin said as Marissa Shephard's murder trial entered its third week.

Shephard is on trial in Moncton for first-degree murder and arson with disregard for human life in the death of Wylie more than two years ago.

Naseemuddin said Wylie's sharp-force injuries included 46 to his neck, 41 to his chest and abdomen, 34 to his arms and legs, 14 to his head and eight to his back. 

Looking at the wounds, the doctor said, he could tell Wylie was still alive when "most of them" were inflicted.

The tool or tools used on Wylie were not discussed Monday, and Naseemuddin simply described sharp-force injuries as being caused by a sharp object penetrating the skin.

As the first few photos of the injuries were displayed on a screen, a sharp inhaling could be heard from the centre of the courtroom, where Wylie's family members sat.

Firefighters found Wylie's body at Shephard's burned-out home at 96 Sumac St. on Dec. 17, 2015.

Judging from Wylie's "clean" trachea, with no soot residue, Naseemuddin said he could safely say the teen was already dead when the house fire burned his body.

He also said there were four blunt-force injuries on Wylie's head, and an injury on his left arm that could indicate the teen was restrained.

When defence lawyer Gilles Lemieux asked if there could be another reason for the arm injury, Naseemuddin said if it was not restraint, it could have been caused by something heavy falling on the arm, or from Wylie falling.

"I had to provide some sort of explanation as to what could have caused it," Naseemuddin said. "Could there have been another reason? Yes."

Morningstar refuses to testify

Earlier on Monday, key Crown witness Devin Morningstar refused to testify for the third time.

Justice Zoël Dionne said Devin Morningstar's refusal to testify can qualify as contempt of court.

"You can rest assured that Mr. Morningstar will be dealt with according to the law," Dionne said after the latest refusal. "Not within this procedure but within a separate procedure. This will not be left untreated."

When Morningstar, 20, was called to the witness box, it was a rerun of the first two two times, with Morningstar standing in shackles before the judge.

Dionne asked him if he'd swear on the Bible, and Morningstar said no. The judge asked him if he'd take a solemn oath, and he said no. Dionne finally asked him if he'd answer questions without swearing or taking an oath and without hesitation, and Morningstar said no.

Dionne said people could face "stiff" penalties if they don't share important details in court proceedings.

Previously, the judge warned Morningstar that if he's found guilty of contempt of court he could face "jail time that would be added to the jail time that you're serving at this point."

Bloodstain analysis

Before Morningstar was brought to court and taken away again, Sgt. Adrien Butler of the RCMP, a forensic analyst, showed photographs taken at a lab of items with small amounts of blood on them.

The items were seized from Morningstar and included a shoe, track pants, boxers and a T-shirt.

"There were some transfer stains on them, small amounts," Butler said.

He said the blood was identified as coming from Wylie, but the judge asked Butler to refrain from connecting the blood to a person, since a DNA expert has not testified yet.

Earlier in his testimony, Butler explained how forensic analysis works and talked about different types of bloodstains before flipping through photographs he took at the New Brunswick Housing unit on Sumac on Dec. 18, 2015.

Butler took the jury through 54 photos of bloodstained walls, steps and a mop and bucket.

He said he paid the most attention to the northwest corner of the triplex basement, where the majority of the bloodletting could have occurred.

There, the white walls had large bloodstains, and Butler pointed to a pool of blood on the floor by the corner.

Butler also pointed to a blood-soaked mop that indicated there'd been cleanup at the scene.

Jury to be absent 2 days

The jury will not be returning to the courtroom for the next two days, and the contents of the hearing in their absence falls under a publication ban. Regular proceedings will resume Thursday.

Shephard, who has been in custody for more than two years, is being held at the New Brunswick Women's Correctional Centre in Miramichi.

Crown prosecutors Annie St. Jacques and Eric Lalonde started calling witnesses on March 12.  

The trial is expected to last until May or June.