Dad finally found guilty of manslaughter in infant son's death in 1993, but he's not going to jail (Whitby, Ontario, Canada)

Dad MARCO TROTTA made his the life of his 8-month-old baby a living hell before the infant finally died. At first, it was thought that the baby died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Not until another child showed up with signs of abuse did authorities take a look at the earlier case. At that point it was discovered that the deceased infant had suffered three head fractures and other injuries. Dad was convicted and went to prison. Then it was discovered that there were some possible problems with the pathologist's testimony, so a new trial was granted. And here we are in 2009....

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/crime/article/134860

Marco Trotta guilty of manslaughter in baby’s 1993 Oshawa death

September 04, 2009
By Jennifer Stone

WHITBY -- Date-stamped family videos chronicling some of the last days of eight-and-a-half month old Paolo Trotta’s life, showing bruises to the baby’s face as they faded and were replaced with new ones, were among the evidence Thursday as his father was found guilty of manslaughter.

The video, taken over a number of days during the-then Oshawa family’s trip to Florida which ended just days before the baby’s May 1993 death, also showed the boy’s father biting the child’s nose --- not for the first time, Crown Attorney Paul Murray suggested in court.

But Marco Trotta, now 40, won’t be going to jail for the infant’s death, even though court heard of a litany of injuries the infant suffered at the hands of his father.

Earlier convicted of second-degree murder in the boy’s death, largely on the strength of testimony of disgraced pathologist Charles Smith, Mr. Trotta already served almost nine years. But, when Dr. Smith’s findings in many of the autopsies he completed over several years came under fire, Mr. Trotta was granted a new trial.

Mr. Trotta, now stocky and sporting a stubbly shaved head, watched the video closely as it played.

He pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm, but not guilty to manslaughter Thursday morning, but was found guilty of both, receiving a suspended sentence and time served, as well as 12 months’ probation and a lifetime prohibition on possessing weapons. He must also submit DNA to police in Peel Region, where he now lives with his wife, Anisa Trotta.

Mrs. Trotta had earlier been convicted of criminal negligence and failure to provide the necessities of life, but all charges against her were stayed as a result of Thursday’s proceedings. She served three years in jail.

She remains bound by a court order to stay away from a number of family members, including her mother.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome was originally thought to have caused Paolo’s death. It was almost a year after the boy died that another of the couple’s children was taken to hospital in Kingston with obvious signs of abuse and the investigation into Paolo’s death was re-opened. His body was exhumed and doctors found evidence of severe, ongoing abuse, including three skull fractures.

“The opinion of all experts is that, with the litany of injuries, Paolo was an abused and battered child,” Mr. Murray read in a memorandum of proof presented in court.

In family court in 1996, Mr. Trotta “described grabbing Paolo by the face and hitting him with a closed fist,” Mr. Murray read. “He also admitted pulling Paolo around by the legs, which caused rug burns on his head, and biting his nose and leaving marks, and throwing Paolo into the air when crying or if he was angry.”

It was a short and terrible life, Mr. Murray said in his submissions to the court.

“During his short eight-and-a-half months of life, Paolo Trotta suffered more injuries than most people suffer in their lifetime,” he said.

The case was “incredibly tragic,” Justice Michael Brown said, noting while Mr. Trotta’s conduct “up to and including (Paolo’s) death is unspeakable, the real tragedy is that no sentence I can impose today on Mr. Trotta can bring Paolo Trotta back to life. I wish it could.”

The entire situation has “been a nightmare for my wife and me for years,” Mr. Trotta said when asked by the judge if he had anything to say.

Outside court, Mr. Trotta said he had no choice but to accept Thursday’s verdict.

“I think I had no choice but to do what I had to do. What kind of fair trial would I have had?” he asked before being shushed by his lawyer, Paul Bennett.

Mrs. Trotta offered only a terse “no comment.”

Neither Trotta showed much emotion inside the courtroom, though Mrs. Trotta could be seen wiping tears from her face in the hallway of the courthouse after the verdicts.

Though Mr. Trotta was found guilty of a lesser charge than the one on which he was originally convicted, Durham Regional Police officers who investigated at the time of the crime say the finding was satisfying.

“This case was resolved in 1998,” now Deputy Chief Chuck Mercier said outside court. “This is just a reaffirmation of the outcome of 1998.”

It’s a long way from the originally incorrect finding that Paolo had died of SIDS, said Dave Kimmerly, now a Durham Regional Police inspector.

“The right thing was done as much as it could have been for Paolo,” he said.

-- With files from Jeff Mitchell