AUGUSTA, Maine — The trial continued Tuesday for the woman charged in the December 2017 death of a 4-year-old girl.
Shawna Gatto, 44, pleaded not guilty to depraved indifference murder last January in connection with the death of Kendall Chick. The child was in the care of her grandfather, Scott Hood, and Gatto at the time of her death.
RELATED: Four-year-old's alleged killer's trial underway
RELATED: Mother of Kendall Chick, who died from abuse, speaks out
Day two of Gatto’s murder trial included testimony from Dr. Mark Flomenbaum, Maine’s chief medical examiner.
Dr. Flomenbaum walked investigators through dozens of graphic autopsy images of Chick’s body, which showed severe bruising and cuts on her face, neck, head, and extremities. His testimony chronicled child abuse syndrome possibly over a multiple month period.
Assistant Attorney General Donald Macomber summarized a portion of the autopsy report on Day 1 of the bench trial during the state’s opening statement.
“She had 15-20 distinct injuries to her head and face," said Macomber. "She had subscapular hemorrhaging, she had multiple injuries to her neck. She had 11 distinct injuries to her extremities. She had blunt trauma to the abdomen including a laceration to the pancreas and the intestinal membranes.”
Dr. Flomenbaum believes the torn pancreas was the source of the air and fluid build-up in Kendall’s abdominal cavity, which he says was the leading contributor towards her cause of death. He suggested other contributing factors include 'bleeding out' from dozens of bruises and cuts, and that Chick did not have enough blood volume left to keep her heart beating.
X-Rays revealed by Dr. Flomenbaum show she did not suffer any skull fractures.
But how did she get the injury and how long did it take for it to kill her?
“Something like a small squeezing force,” said the chief medical examiner during direct examination. He estimated it happened one to 12 hours before death. Flomenbaum says there was a 95-percent chance it happened within a three to six-hour window.
Gatto's defense brought in their own forensic pathologist, Dr. John Spencer Daniel III. Dr. Daniel had a differing opinion on when Chick's deadly injury occurred but agreed with Flomenbaum's cause of death.
In cross-examination, Gatto’s defense team asked if Flomenbaum could conclude the injuries were caused by Gatto, or even her fiancé Stephen Hood, Kendall’s grandfather.
“I make no comment as to who caused the injuries,” said Flomenbaum to defense attorney, Jeremey Pratt.
NEWS CENTER Maine was told to expect an opening statement from the defense as early as Wednesday afternoon.