The murder trial for an Ottawa woman and man began on Tuesday at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, three years after police laid charges in relation to
a seven-week-old infant’s death.
Boravy Buth, the baby’s mother, and Patrick O’Connor were both charged for allegedly failing to provide the necessities of life to the baby in March 2023. Buth was also charged with second-degree murder and criminal negligence.
On Oct. 26, 2021, at around 4:29 a.m., police were called to a residence on 27 Winthrop Priv. for reports of a baby not breathing.
Paramedics arrived shortly after that and began performing CPR on the infant. The baby, identified as Colton throughout the court proceedings, was transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was 53 days old.
The Ottawa Police Service homicide unit and sexual assault and child abuse investigator then launched a joint investigation that lasted 16 months.
Buth and O’Connor pleaded not guilty to all charges, kicking off the jury trial expected to last eight weeks.
Superior Court Justice Kevin Phillips, the presiding judge, also lifted a publication ban that previously barred media from publishing the names of Buth and O’Connor and the victim, Colton, citing the
open court principle
as the key reason.
During opening submissions, Crown attorney Sonia Beauchamp alleged that the baby did not die because of a “short” fall from the bed, but rather from regular and persistent negligence from Buth and O’Connor.
Const. Stephan Kubiseski, the Crown’s first witness, was one of the two police officers who arrived at 27 Winthrop after the call was received.
Kubiseski described how he and his partner performed CPR on the infant. He also told the jury he grabbed a defibrillator from his police cruiser and put the pads on the baby in an attempt to revive him, but the machine never prompted Kubiseski to administer a shock.
He later told the court that the infant had bruises from the top left shoulder to his neck and to the top right eyelid. The baby also had no pulse or breathing and his skin tone changed from a pink-ish tone to a purple-ish tone during CPR.
Buth was frantic, distraught and sad the entire time, he added.
After paramedics arrived and took over care of the infant, Kubiseski said he talked to Buth to gather information about what happened so he could relay it to paramedics and medical staff.
According to Kubiseski, Buth said the baby had fallen off his bed between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m., and she picked him up and walked around the residence before going back to bed together “once he was fine.” O’Connor woke her up shortly after because the baby wasn’t breathing, which prompted her to call 911.
Kubiseski then transported Buth to the emergency room of the Queensway Carleton Hospital so she could be updated on the baby’s condition. Medical staff tried helping the baby, but he was pronounced dead at around 5:15 a.m.
Buth then tried giving the baby chest compressions and breaths, while also rubbing his arms and legs, the constable said.
“I told her it would be best to lay him down, but I let her have time with her infant,” Kubiseski told the court, his voice breaking as he cried on the witness stand.
The jury also heard testimony from Sgt. Jordan Blonde, the other police officer who attended the call.
Blonde, who was a constable at that time, said he found Colton on the living room floor and saw O’Connor performing CPR on the infant when he arrived. When he took over chest compressions, Colton was pale and cold to the touch.
The infant also didn’t have a pulse, he noted.
Blonde also described the scene as “chaotic” and remembered hearing screaming and crying.
The jury trial at the courthouse on Elgin Street was scheduled to reconvene on Wednesday, March 4. Defence lawyers Natasha Calvinho and Shira-Lee Brass are representing Buth and O’Connor, respectively.
With files from Aedan Helmer
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