A Brockville, Ontario court heard horrific testimony today about the physical state of a murder victim. 41-year-old Jerry Hawley of Prescott is charged with second degree murder in the death of his older brother Jaime who was found in an emaciated state weighing only 57 pounds.
Jamie Hawley had been living with his younger brother Jerry in a duplex in Prescott. Hawley, who was 41 years old at the time of his death, had been in a wheelchair. A brain injury as an infant had left him with both physical and mental disabilities.
Ontario's chief forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Pollanen was on the stand today. Dr. Pollanen described in graphic detail his examination of Jaime Hawley's body. He discovered 33 pressure ulcers or bed sores on Hawley’s. Dr. Pollanen says 7 of those were "crater-like", so deep they were down to the bone and in some cases even infecting the bone.
Pollanen says the immediate cause of death was pneumonia but infected pressure ulcers and “not enough food coming in” were contributing factors.
He says what was striking in his examination of Jamie Hawley was his lack of body fat.
“A normal Torontonian will have centimetres of body fat,” Dr. Pollanen testified. “Hawley had 1 to 2 millimetres, virtually no body fat.”
Court heard Hawley had weighed only 57 pounds when he died. At 10 years old, he had weighed 54.
Jerry Hawley has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
His lawyer, Robert Barr, says Hawley is happy to finally have his day in court. “He's been looking forward to this trial for a long time,” says Barr. “He’s been very patient and we're pleased this matter is finally being tried and we'll see what the outcome is.”
The trial is expected to last eight weeks.
