A pathologist who examined the remains of six infants found in a Winnipeg U-Haul storage locker said he couldn’t determine whether the infants were born alive or stillborn.
A Manitoba courtroom heard testimony Tuesday from Dr. Michael Pollanen, the Chief Forensic Pathologist for the Province of Ontario. He was part of a peer review of the infant remains autopsy in January 2015.
He physically examined all 6 bodies, looked at pictures and microscopic sections of tissues.
Dr. Pollanen said he removed and measured the left femur of all six infants in an effort to determine the gestational ages of the remains.
“They were sufficiently developed to be born alive," he concluded.
However, he testified that he couldn't determine if they were in fact born alive or stillborn due to the decomposition.
Andrea Giesbrecht was arrested in October 2014 after the remains were found in plastic containers in a U-Haul storage locker she had rented.
The remains were discovered by employees of the storage company after fees went unpaid on the locker where they had been kept.
Giesbrecht has pleaded not guilty to six counts of storing infant remains.
The trial was adjourned until July so Giesbrecht’s husband Jeremy could seek legal counsel and decide whether he was going to waive his right to not testify about things the couple may have said to each other. He could return to the witness box Tuesday or Wednesday.
With files from The Canadian Press
