2 police officers testify at trial for Regina couple accused of killing 4-year-old girl

The trial of a Regina couple that began yesterday, continued today withtwo witnesses taking the stand.

Kevin and Tammy Goforth are charged with second-degree murderin the deathof a four-year-old girl and causing bodily harm to a two-year-old girl.

At the time, the two girls were being looked after by the Goforths.

The courttoday heard from the first two witnesses.

First witness testifies

The first witness called to the stand was Const.GarthFleece, a forensic identification expert with the Regina Police Service.

Fleece testified that when he was in theGoforthhome in the summer of 2012, he looked foranything thatcould have been used as bindings or for restraint.He saidhe did find string on the doorknob of a room with bunk beds.

"On the doorknob was a piece of string hanging from it at that time, which was one of the items I was to search for in the original search warrant," Fleece told the court.

He also testified that he collected a piece of fabric with a loop init and dark coloured hair in the knot.

An agreed statement of facts saidthe four-year-old died of a braininjury after suffering cardiac arrest, secondary to malnutrition anddehydration.

During his testimony, Fleece held up apair of small pink pajamapants he had found in a cardboard box,which had the duct tape removed from them.

"The box had a pair of pink pyjama pants with duct tape stuck to them, as well as two pyjama shirts. Both for small children. The pyjama shirt was a long-sleeved shirt with a tank top over top. They're also pink and purple as well," he said.

He also held up a small undershirtwith stains described as being a mixture of blood and feces.

The mother of the four-year-old was in court, and started sobbing upon seeing the garments.

Fleece continued to show physical items from the Goforth home throughout his testimony.

Among the physical evidence was a cargo strap, which was attached to a rack in the basement, that held a single black hair in a rusty buckle.

There was also painter's tape with black hair in it, and shrink wrap. Fleece said pieces of cardboard were on the floor of the girls' bedroom, which smelled like urine and feces, and also what Fleece believes to be blood.

Fleece also found a red-coloured dot behind the bedroom door, which tested presumptivelypositivefor blood later.

"It piqued my interest because the possibility of blood was there," he said.

Family members consoled each other in the court room as these items were shown.

Fleece also told the court that the room smelled of urine in general, but the smell was strongest on a piece of cardboard in the room.

On cross-examination, Fleece said the room with the bunk beds was the "least cluttered" in the house and that it also had children's toys and colouring papers.

Second witness testifies

Tyler Boynton, forensic investigation officer with Regina police, was the second witness to testify.

He had taken photos of both girls in the hospital, and at times showed the pictures to the courtroom.

He described to the court injuries around both girls' wrists, and then read from a list of injuries, including bruising and discolouration.

During the testimony, both family members and accused Tammy Goforth cried.

Court resumes Wednesday morning.