302:
and put up for adoption. Marquardt's conviction was set aside on 10 February 2011 by the
Ontario Court of Appeal. Prosecutors agreed her trial had been faulty because of Smith's unreliable testimony, but they would not say whether a retrial would be sought or not. On June 6, murder charges were withdrawn.
224:
without offering a defence (but offering no admission of guilt) in a plea (the delay was primarily attributable to Smith not wanting to testify). Sherret was jailed on the basis of Smith's opinion that her four-month-old son Joshua had a skull fracture, and that he had been smothered. She was released on
301:
Tammy
Marquardt was convicted in Ontario in 1995 of killing her two-year-old son, who had epilepsy. Her conviction rested in large part upon testimony from Smith, who concluded the boy had been strangled or smothered. She was sentenced to life in prison, and her two other children were taken from her
188:
A local pathologist performed an autopsy on Valin. Then "consultation reports" were sought from Smith and four other specialists, based on tissue samples and other evidence from the autopsy. Smith was the only consultant to conclude Valin was sexually assaulted at the time of death. That contradicted
149:
forensic pathology unit at
Hospital for Sick Children and Smith was appointed director. He had become almost solely responsible for investigating suspicious child deaths in Ontario. In this period he conducted hundreds of autopsies and testified in court multiple times. He conducted training sessions
268:
for having killed her seven-year-old daughter Sharon in 1997 by stabbing her more than 80 times with a pair of scissors. Much of the case rested on Dr. Smith's 10-page autopsy report. In
January 2001 the Crown abruptly dropped the charges, after numerous experts, including Crown witnesses, disagreed
228:
in 1996 and remained on bail until the conviction. Sherret's sentence was 1 year in jail and 2 years probation. Sherret served eight months in total. Her older child was removed by
Children's Aid, and in order to get him out of foster care, she agreed to give him up for adoption and have no physical
204:
technology, but the tissue could not be located by Smith, who was given the evidence by the pathologist who did the autopsy, until 2005, 11 years after the trial, when the missing tissue samples turned up in Smith's office. William
Mullins-Johnson was released on bail in 2005, pending review of his
184:
was found guilty of the first-degree murder of his niece, Valin
Johnson, after a two-and-a-half week trial in September 1994. He was convicted after a jury trial in which Smith's evidence played a major role in determining the time of death, the cause of death and whether the girl had been sexually
348:
Justice Goudge's report, released on
October 1, 2008 concluded that there were serious problems with the way suspicious deaths involving children are handled in Ontario. He pointed to the problems that had been found with the 20 or so problematic cases that Charles Smith had handled as evidence of
223:
On the morning of
January 23, 1996, Sherry Sherret found her four-month-old son Joshua lying in his bed not breathing. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Three and a half years later she was given the option to accept a plea of infanticide. She was convicted of infanticide
171:
Maureen
Laidley was charged with killing Tyrell Salmon, the three-year-old son of her boyfriend, after the child died in 1998. Laidley said the boy had jumped off the couch, slipped, and struck his head on a marble coffee table, but she was arrested after Smith told police that such injuries could
75:
began hearing evidence on November 12, 2007. The following year the inquiry found there to be fundamental errors made on the part of Smith. It concluded that Smith had "actively misled" superiors and made "false and misleading" statements in court. Many of the cases in which he had testified were
310:
Maria Shepherd pled guilty in 1992 to the 1991 death of her stepdaughter, Kasandra Shepherd. She was sentenced to two years less a day for manslaughter. In May 2009, the Ontario Court of Appeal allowed her to appeal her initial conviction. In February 2016, the Crown agreed her guilty plea and
59:
In June 2005, the chief coroner of Ontario ordered a review of 44 autopsies carried out by Smith, thirteen of which had resulted in criminal charges and convictions. The review was released in April 2007, indicating that there were substantial problems with 20 of the autopsies.
329:
Smith successfully appealed, but was not reinstated because he was not licensed to practise in Saskatchewan. He pled guilty to a charge of unprofessional conduct for his failure to disclose he was under investigation by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan.
251:
Anthony Kporwodu and Angela Veno were charged in 1997 with murdering their infant daughter. Smith took more than seven months to prepare his initial autopsy report. The charges were ultimately thrown out by a judge for violating the constitutional right to a timely trial.
276:
Louise Reynolds sued in March 2007. Despite the rules related to Crown immunity, the Court of Appeal ruled, in a ground-breaking decision, that the suit against Smith and other experts could go ahead: while court testimony is protected, faulty work is not.
1099:
531:
185:
assaulted. Mullins-Johnson had babysat Valin, 4, and her 3-year-old brother on the evening of June 26, 1993. When the girl's mother returned home, she did not check on her daughter. At 7 a.m. the next day she found Valin dead in bed.
978:
205:
case. On July 16, 2007, a report by three expert pathologists (a report written unbeknownst to the lawyers working on his behalf) determined there was no evidence that the girl was sexually assaulted, and the Ontario
242:
Brenda Waudby of Peterborough was charged with beating her 2-year-old daughter Jenna to death on January 22, 1997, on the basis of Smith's professional opinion as to what time the injuries were inflicted.
1095:
521:
233:
for an injury. On December 7, 2009, the Ontario Court of Appeal exonerated Sherret, stating that it was "profoundly regrettable that due to flaws in pathological evidence" she was wrongfully convicted.
289:
causing death and was sentenced to ninety days in jail. He was acquitted by the Ontario Court of Appeal on January 20, 2011. His case was part of the review ordered of Dr. Smith's cases following the
107:, and put up for adoption three months later. He spent years looking for his biological mother and called her on her 65th birthday though she refused to take his call. His adoptive father was in the
722:
1260:
138:
in 1980. He joined the Hospital for Sick Children in 1981 as one of the rotating team of pathologists, and shortly was doing autopsies on children who had met sudden or suspicious deaths.
212:, said that William Mullins-Johnson's conviction "cannot stand" and that he should be acquitted by the appeals court. On October 15, 2007 he was acquitted by the Ontario Court of Appeal.
970:
815:
893:
229:
contact with him until he was 18. Later exhumation of the child and examination of the skull have shown that there was no skull fracture. It is thought Dr. Smith confused the
604:
421:
484:
400:
870:
634:
846:
326:
in Saskatchewan. However, he failed to mention to his new employers that he was under investigation for misconduct in Ontario; in December 2005 he was dismissed.
1167:
1073:
333:
On February 1, 2011, Smith was stripped of his licence during a hearing by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario examining "disgraceful conduct".
285:
Dinesh Kumar was a 26-year-old Punjabi immigrant to Canada who was charged with second degree murder in the 1992 death of his infant son. He pled guilty to
1270:
1120:
785:
53:
714:
215:
In 2010, five years after he filed a $ 13 million lawsuit, he received $ 4.25 million in a compensation settlement from the government of Ontario.
172:
not result in death. The charge was abruptly stayed when outside experts testified that the injuries were fully consistent with Laidley's account.
41:
446:
1010:
1275:
509:
1043:
668:
368:
807:
913:
454:
189:
the defence's point that Valin, who had a history of vomiting in bed, might have died of natural causes. The jury convicted, which the
890:
1199:
946:
577:
337:
600:
150:
for lawyers on how to examine and cross-examine expert witnesses, and training for law-enforcement and medical staff on detecting
1145:
1035:
425:
1255:
1250:
1245:
1002:
20:
476:
396:
660:
52:, from 1982 to 2003, Smith performed more than 1,000 child autopsies. In 2002, Smith was reprimanded with a caution by the
867:
626:
838:
1265:
1136:"Payout urged in Smith probe — Government quick to react, says it will strike committee to determine compensation"
526:
209:
96:
916:
1225:
63:
In response to the review, Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant immediately announced that there would be a full
1065:
751:
115:
319:
Around the time that his pathology work at Sick Children's received heavy scrutiny, Smith's marriage collapsed.
181:
777:
79:
Smith proclaimed that he had "a thing against people who hurt children", while critics said that "he was on a
323:
194:
190:
1240:
359:
Individuals that were wrongly accused by Smith were entitled up to $ 250,000 as a "recognition payment".
135:
131:
108:
353:
265:
56:
for his work on three suspicious-death cases, and in 2003 he was removed from performing autopsies.
286:
352:
Also in 2008, the chief forensic pathologist for Ontario began a public inquiry into 220 cases of
155:
37:
33:
pathologist known for performing flawed child autopsies that resulted in wrongful convictions.
1114:
942:
505:
261:
1194:
578:"Doctor leaves Sick Kids Pathologist's work under review Innocent parents charged in deaths"
206:
920:
897:
874:
111:
and lived in numerous places in Canada and Germany. Smith attended high school in Ottawa.
581:
290:
72:
64:
1135:
1234:
273:
present in the house at the time). By then, Reynolds had spent 22 months in custody.
522:"Charles Smith scandal: How a mother wrongly accused of killing her son fought back"
322:
Smith resigned from Sick Children's Hospital in July 2005, to take up a position at
1140:
123:
553:"Miscarriage of Justice (Ontario / Canada) Dr Charles Smith Pathologist Homepage"
151:
230:
84:
311:
conviction should be struck and an acquittal should be entered in its place.
146:
127:
119:
68:
30:
269:
with Smith and agreed that a powerful dog had mauled the girl (there was a
743:
630:
270:
971:"Mom who pleaded guilty to kid's death 25 years ago set for exoneration"
691:
356:
to determine if anyone was wrongfully convicted in the babies' deaths.
142:
104:
100:
80:
49:
45:
447:"Goudge inquiry expected to urge sweeping reforms for child autopsies"
1219:
552:
939:
Real Justice: Branded a Baby Killer: The Story of Tammy Marquardt
1168:"Compensation for Ontario victims of forensic pathology scandal"
225:
1214:
914:"Murder charge withdrawn for mom in disgraced pathologist case"
201:
154:. While at Sick Children's Hospital, Smith lived on a farm in
504:
Chapman, John. "Death in the Family" Doubleday Canada. 2017.
336:
In 2017 multiple attempts to locate and contact Smith by the
808:"Wrongfully accused mom can sue pathologist: Appeal Court"
260:
Louise Reynolds was a 28-year-old single mother living in
891:"15 years later, court overturns child murder conviction"
422:"Coroner orders review of Toronto pathologist - CTV News"
1036:"20 Child Autopsies By Pathologist Questionable: Review"
200:
Attempts were made to clear his name based on available
715:"Mother wrongly convicted in infant's death acquitted"
477:"Dr. Charles Smith: The man behind the public inquiry"
397:"Dr. Charles Smith: The man behind the public inquiry"
1222:, a retired TorStar reporter writing a book on Smith
1003:"Inquiry blasts pathologist Smith and his overseers"
1066:"Disgraced pathologist stripped of medical licence"
661:"Ont. woman hopes for exoneration in child's death"
1030:
1028:
1261:Members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance
997:
995:
627:"Wrongfully convicted man gets $ 4.25M from Ont"
391:
389:
387:
385:
383:
16:Canadian pathologist, performed flawed autopsies
771:
769:
126:, Canada in 1975. He completed his training in
601:"Pathologist played key role in several cases"
8:
655:
653:
651:
839:"A father's 20-year battle for exoneration"
595:
593:
591:
340:failed and it was unknown where he lived.
231:normal gap between the baby's skull plates
54:Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons
868:"Ont. mother's murder conviction quashed"
571:
569:
19:For other people with the same name, see
349:serious problems in the Ontario system.
1076:from the original on September 12, 2012
379:
1119:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
1112:
1013:from the original on December 12, 2008
754:from the original on November 29, 2011
1220:The Charles Smith Blog by Harold Levy
964:
962:
960:
958:
849:from the original on October 23, 2012
788:from the original on January 20, 2016
692:"Networked Knowledge - Media Reports"
607:from the original on January 20, 2016
457:from the original on December 5, 2008
7:
424:. Ctv.ca. 2005-06-08. Archived from
369:List of miscarriage of justice cases
197:dismissed a further appeal in 1998.
818:from the original on April 12, 2016
776:Tyler, Tracey (February 13, 2007).
671:from the original on April 28, 2007
580:. Injustice Busters. Archived from
71:forensic pathology in Ontario. The
1046:from the original on July 15, 2009
969:Colin Perkel (February 22, 2016).
837:Tyler, Tracey (January 20, 2011).
744:"Several cases left under a cloud"
14:
1271:University of Saskatchewan alumni
1166:Mahoney, Jill (August 10, 2010).
778:"Woman fights to sue pathologist"
1134:Boyle, T; Tyler T (2008-10-01).
694:. Welcome to Networked Knowledge
247:Anthony Kporwodu and Angela Veno
1148:from the original on 2009-07-15
1102:from the original on 2019-07-22
981:from the original on 2021-06-16
941:. James Lorimer & Company.
725:from the original on 2016-03-03
637:from the original on 2016-01-25
534:from the original on 2018-12-04
487:from the original on 2016-02-29
403:from the original on 2018-08-10
97:Toronto Salvation Army Hospital
315:Life and career after SickKids
21:Charles Smith (disambiguation)
1:
1276:University of Toronto alumni
750:. Toronto. April 20, 2007.
180:William Mullins-Johnson of
1292:
603:. The Spec. Nov 12, 2007.
116:University of Saskatchewan
76:re-examined and appealed.
42:Hospital for Sick Children
18:
937:D'Costa, Jasmine (2015).
114:Smith graduated from the
134:and was certified as an
324:Saskatoon City Hospital
195:Supreme Court of Canada
191:Ontario Court of Appeal
176:William Mullins-Johnson
87:" than a pathologist.
530:. Cbc.ca. 2017-01-12.
453:. September 30, 2008.
136:anatomical pathologist
83:and acted more like a
1256:Forensic pathologists
1251:Canadian pathologists
1246:Canadian evangelicals
141:In 1992, the Ontario
132:University of Toronto
109:Canadian Armed Forces
91:Early life and career
1195:Background biography
1072:. February 1, 2011.
354:shaken baby syndrome
266:second degree murder
193:upheld in 1996. The
145:'s Office created a
95:Smith was born in a
38:forensic pathologist
27:Charles Randal Smith
1266:People from Toronto
1009:. October 1, 2008.
904:, 10 February 2011.
881:, 10 February 2011.
633:. 21 October 2010.
287:criminal negligence
1209:Report and inquiry
1172:The Globe and Mail
1042:. April 19, 2007.
975:The Globe and Mail
919:2021-06-16 at the
896:2012-10-23 at the
873:2021-06-16 at the
814:. March 14, 2007.
719:The Globe and Mail
667:. April 23, 2007.
67:into the state of
1201:Injustice Busters
925:The National Post
584:on July 23, 2011.
510:978-0-385-68084-4
262:Kingston, Ontario
1283:
1226:Coroner's report
1183:
1182:
1180:
1178:
1163:
1157:
1156:
1154:
1153:
1131:
1125:
1124:
1118:
1110:
1108:
1107:
1092:
1086:
1085:
1083:
1081:
1062:
1056:
1055:
1053:
1051:
1032:
1023:
1022:
1020:
1018:
999:
990:
989:
987:
986:
966:
953:
952:
934:
928:
911:
905:
902:The Toronto Star
888:
882:
865:
859:
858:
856:
854:
834:
828:
827:
825:
823:
804:
798:
797:
795:
793:
773:
764:
763:
761:
759:
740:
734:
733:
731:
730:
710:
704:
703:
701:
699:
687:
681:
680:
678:
676:
657:
646:
645:
643:
642:
623:
617:
616:
614:
612:
597:
586:
585:
573:
564:
563:
561:
560:
549:
543:
542:
540:
539:
518:
512:
502:
496:
495:
493:
492:
473:
467:
466:
464:
462:
443:
437:
436:
434:
433:
418:
412:
411:
409:
408:
393:
207:Attorney General
182:Sault Ste. Marie
1291:
1290:
1286:
1285:
1284:
1282:
1281:
1280:
1231:
1230:
1211:
1191:
1186:
1176:
1174:
1165:
1164:
1160:
1151:
1149:
1133:
1132:
1128:
1111:
1105:
1103:
1096:"Archived copy"
1094:
1093:
1089:
1079:
1077:
1064:
1063:
1059:
1049:
1047:
1034:
1033:
1026:
1016:
1014:
1001:
1000:
993:
984:
982:
968:
967:
956:
949:
936:
935:
931:
921:Wayback Machine
912:
908:
898:Wayback Machine
889:
885:
875:Wayback Machine
866:
862:
852:
850:
836:
835:
831:
821:
819:
806:
805:
801:
791:
789:
775:
774:
767:
757:
755:
742:
741:
737:
728:
726:
712:
711:
707:
697:
695:
690:Moles, Robert.
689:
688:
684:
674:
672:
659:
658:
649:
640:
638:
625:
624:
620:
610:
608:
599:
598:
589:
575:
574:
567:
558:
556:
551:
550:
546:
537:
535:
520:
519:
515:
503:
499:
490:
488:
475:
474:
470:
460:
458:
445:
444:
440:
431:
429:
420:
419:
415:
406:
404:
395:
394:
381:
377:
365:
346:
317:
308:
299:
297:Tammy Marquardt
283:
264:, charged with
258:
256:Louise Reynolds
249:
240:
221:
178:
169:
167:Maureen Laidley
164:
93:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1289:
1287:
1279:
1278:
1273:
1268:
1263:
1258:
1253:
1248:
1243:
1233:
1232:
1229:
1228:
1223:
1217:
1215:Goudge Inquiry
1210:
1207:
1206:
1205:
1197:
1190:
1189:External links
1187:
1185:
1184:
1158:
1126:
1087:
1057:
1024:
991:
954:
947:
929:
927:, 6 June 2011.
906:
883:
860:
829:
799:
765:
735:
705:
682:
647:
618:
587:
576:Harold, Levy.
565:
544:
513:
497:
468:
438:
413:
378:
376:
373:
372:
371:
364:
361:
345:
342:
316:
313:
307:
306:Maria Shepherd
304:
298:
295:
291:Goudge Inquiry
282:
279:
257:
254:
248:
245:
239:
236:
220:
219:Sherry Sherret
217:
210:Michael Bryant
177:
174:
168:
165:
163:
160:
92:
89:
73:Goudge Inquiry
65:public inquiry
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1288:
1277:
1274:
1272:
1269:
1267:
1264:
1262:
1259:
1257:
1254:
1252:
1249:
1247:
1244:
1242:
1241:Living people
1239:
1238:
1236:
1227:
1224:
1221:
1218:
1216:
1213:
1212:
1208:
1204:
1202:
1198:
1196:
1193:
1192:
1188:
1173:
1169:
1162:
1159:
1147:
1143:
1142:
1137:
1130:
1127:
1122:
1116:
1101:
1097:
1091:
1088:
1075:
1071:
1067:
1061:
1058:
1045:
1041:
1037:
1031:
1029:
1025:
1012:
1008:
1004:
998:
996:
992:
980:
976:
972:
965:
963:
961:
959:
955:
950:
948:9781459409934
944:
940:
933:
930:
926:
922:
918:
915:
910:
907:
903:
899:
895:
892:
887:
884:
880:
876:
872:
869:
864:
861:
848:
844:
840:
833:
830:
817:
813:
809:
803:
800:
787:
783:
779:
772:
770:
766:
753:
749:
745:
739:
736:
724:
720:
716:
709:
706:
693:
686:
683:
670:
666:
662:
656:
654:
652:
648:
636:
632:
628:
622:
619:
606:
602:
596:
594:
592:
588:
583:
579:
572:
570:
566:
555:. Netk.net.au
554:
548:
545:
533:
529:
528:
523:
517:
514:
511:
507:
501:
498:
486:
482:
478:
472:
469:
456:
452:
448:
442:
439:
428:on 2009-07-15
427:
423:
417:
414:
402:
398:
392:
390:
388:
386:
384:
380:
374:
370:
367:
366:
362:
360:
357:
355:
350:
343:
341:
339:
334:
331:
327:
325:
320:
314:
312:
305:
303:
296:
294:
292:
288:
280:
278:
274:
272:
267:
263:
255:
253:
246:
244:
238:Brenda Waudby
237:
235:
232:
227:
218:
216:
213:
211:
208:
203:
198:
196:
192:
186:
183:
175:
173:
166:
162:Notable cases
161:
159:
157:
153:
148:
144:
139:
137:
133:
129:
125:
121:
117:
112:
110:
106:
102:
98:
90:
88:
86:
82:
77:
74:
70:
66:
61:
57:
55:
51:
47:
43:
39:
34:
32:
28:
22:
1200:
1175:. Retrieved
1171:
1161:
1150:. Retrieved
1141:Toronto Star
1139:
1129:
1104:. Retrieved
1090:
1078:. Retrieved
1069:
1060:
1048:. Retrieved
1039:
1015:. Retrieved
1006:
983:. Retrieved
974:
938:
932:
924:
909:
901:
886:
878:
863:
851:. Retrieved
842:
832:
820:. Retrieved
811:
802:
790:. Retrieved
781:
756:. Retrieved
747:
738:
727:. Retrieved
718:
713:Kirk Makin.
708:
696:. Retrieved
685:
673:. Retrieved
664:
639:. Retrieved
621:
609:. Retrieved
582:the original
557:. Retrieved
547:
536:. Retrieved
525:
516:
500:
489:. Retrieved
480:
471:
459:. Retrieved
450:
441:
430:. Retrieved
426:the original
416:
405:. Retrieved
358:
351:
347:
335:
332:
328:
321:
318:
309:
300:
284:
281:Dinesh Kumar
275:
259:
250:
241:
222:
214:
199:
187:
179:
170:
140:
124:Saskatchewan
113:
94:
78:
62:
58:
36:As the head
35:
29:is a former
26:
25:
1080:February 1,
845:. Toronto.
784:. Toronto.
721:. Toronto.
611:October 16,
527:The Current
152:child abuse
1235:Categories
1152:2009-05-16
1106:2021-04-23
985:2016-02-22
853:August 25,
758:August 28,
729:2017-08-25
641:2010-10-21
559:2018-08-10
538:2018-08-10
491:2016-02-22
432:2011-08-17
407:2018-08-10
399:. Cbc.ca.
375:References
85:prosecutor
1177:April 29,
822:March 16,
792:April 28,
675:April 23,
156:Newmarket
147:pediatric
128:Pathology
120:Saskatoon
69:pediatric
1203:coverage
1146:Archived
1115:cite web
1100:Archived
1074:Archived
1070:CTV News
1050:March 1,
1044:Archived
1040:CBC News
1017:March 1,
1011:Archived
1007:CBC News
979:Archived
917:Archived
894:Archived
879:CBC News
871:Archived
847:Archived
843:The Star
816:Archived
812:CBC News
786:Archived
782:The Star
752:Archived
748:The Star
723:Archived
669:Archived
665:CBC News
635:Archived
631:CBC News
605:Archived
532:Archived
485:Archived
481:CBC News
461:March 1,
455:Archived
451:CBC News
401:Archived
363:See also
271:pit bull
31:Canadian
698:12 July
143:Coroner
130:at the
105:Ontario
101:Toronto
81:crusade
50:Ontario
46:Toronto
40:at the
945:
508:
344:Legacy
1179:2022
1121:link
1082:2011
1052:2009
1019:2009
943:ISBN
855:2017
824:2020
794:2010
760:2011
700:2013
677:2007
613:2012
506:ISBN
463:2009
226:bail
338:CBC
202:DNA
118:in
99:in
44:in
1237::
1170:.
1144:.
1138:.
1117:}}
1113:{{
1098:.
1068:.
1038:.
1027:^
1005:.
994:^
977:.
973:.
957:^
923:,
900:,
877:,
841:.
810:.
780:.
768:^
746:.
717:.
663:.
650:^
629:.
590:^
568:^
524:.
483:.
479:.
449:.
382:^
293:.
158:.
122:,
103:,
48:,
1181:.
1155:.
1123:)
1109:.
1084:.
1054:.
1021:.
988:.
951:.
857:.
826:.
796:.
762:.
732:.
702:.
679:.
644:.
615:.
562:.
541:.
494:.
465:.
435:.
410:.
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.