A forensic identification expert testifying at the trial of a Regina couple accused of abusing two little girls says he found duct tape with hair stuck to it.
Const. Garth Fleece told a Regina court that he also found dark hair in the knot of a piece of pink fabric, as well as cardboard with blood and feces in the girls' room.
Fleece was tasked with searching Tammy and Kevin Goforth's home in August 2012, after a four-year-old girl died while in their care. The officer testified Tuesday that he was looking for items such as rope or string that could be used as binding.
"The string was on the outside of the (bedroom) door, what I believed to be apparent blood was on a droplet on the wall, blood on the cardboard behind the door, painters tape on the top bunk, what I call shrink wrap behind the dresser in the closet, there's no sheets on either of the bunk beds," said Fleece, who was the first witnesses at the trial.
"It was sparse, was the room, was my general observation of it."
The smell of urine and feces dominated the room, the officer said. He also showed evidence of a black cargo strap found in the basement with a single strand of hair in the buckle and a pink top with a stain that contained blood and feces.
Fleece also testified that there were locks on the outside of most of the doors in the home.
Relatives of the little girls sobbed in court as the evidence was presented.
Tammy and Kevin Goforth sat quietly together in the prisoner's box as the testimony was heard. The Goforths are charged with second-degree murder and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
The Crown alleges that the four-year-old and her two-year-old sister, who survived, were malnournished, kept in poor conditions and at times restrained.
An agreed statement of facts says the four-year-old died of a brain injury after suffering cardiac arrest on July 31, 2012, secondary to malnutrition and dehydration.
In their opening address Monday, defence lawyers told the jury that they might hear shocking evidence.
But Jeff Deagle, who is representing Tammy Goforth, and Noah Evanchuk, who is representing Kevin Goforth, also urged the jurors not to rush to conclusions. Deagle and Evanchuk said the Goforths did not intentionally harm the girls.
The trial is expected to last three weeks.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.