Father in Brandon's manslaughter trial found guilty in infant 2016 death

CBC

5 hours ago

A Manitoba father has been found guilty of manslaughter in the death of his two-month-old daughter nearly a decade ago.
Keifer Mecas, 34, was home alone watching his 11-week-old Haelin Taylor on Jan. 4. 2016, when she went into medical distress in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, about 40 kilometres west of Brandon, Man.
Haelin was rushed to hospital in critical condition but died nearly three weeks later on Jan. 23.
Police deemed her death a homicide. Both parents were initially questioned by police.
Charges were laid against Mecas seven years later in 2023, after multiple witnesses came forward in 2022 alleging he had confessed to harming Haelin.
The judge-only trial began in April.
On June 4, Court of King's Bench Justice Scott Abel found Mecas guilty of manslaughter. In his oral decision, he cited witness testimony placing Mecas alone with his daughter when the injuries occurred, as well as medical expert evidence outlining the nature of Haelin's injuries.
"I've determined that the cause of death was the application of significant force in an acceleration-deceleration event," Abel told the court. "The injuries were not progressive but rather were caused at the same time ... when the accused was the only adult in the residence with Haelin.
"I am satisfied that the accused caused the injuries to Haelin by the significant application of force."
While the case relied on circumstantial evidence, the judge ruled it was reasonable to infer that Mecas inflicted the injuries that led to Haelin's death. He ruled the Crown had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Mecas's action – applying violent force – directly contributed to Haelin's death.
The court found that Mecas had committed an unlawful act by assaulting the infant, using force that was well beyond what would be considered normal handling of a baby. The injuries were deemed dangerous and foreseeable, meeting the legal threshold for manslaughter, Abel said.
At the trial, the defence suggested an alternative scenario in which Haelin had stopped breathing on her own, possibly due to choking. In a separate 2018 statement, Mecas told police Haelin had been vomiting and struggling to breathe, prompting him to perform CPR with light chest compressions,
But, Justice Abel rejected that account stating it could not explain the severity of Haelin's injuries — including trauma to her brain, eyes and spinal cord.
"Even if I were to accept that Haelin stopped breathing first and the accused shook Haelin to revive her that explanation still does not create a reasonable doubt regarding the cause of death," he said.
Abel's decision repeatedly noted that medical experts testified that the injuries were consistent with significant acceleration and deceleration consistent with violent shaking. A doctor had also examined Haelin one month before the incident and confirmed she was a healthy baby at the time.
"I accept their evidence that the cause of death was hypoxic-ischemic brain damage due to a traumatic brain injury," Abel said. "The trauma to Haelin's brain caused her heart to stop breathing resulting in a lack of oxygen and blood to her brain."
Abel requested a Gladue Report — which explains an Indigenous person's history, their family's history and their community's history to the courts, in order to take the individual's unique circumstances and challenges into consideration — before Mecas is sentenced in July.