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THUNDER BAY – Of the 31 stab wounds sustained by the 11-year-old victim in the LaBelle murder trial, allegedly inflicted by his mother Courtney LaBelle, two penetrated his heart, resulting in a rapid loss of blood, and death soon after, according to the post-mortem report.
Dr. Ingo Von Both, a forensic pathologist who performed the post-mortem examination on the victim, was called to testify by the Crown on day four of the second-degree murder trial against LaBelle.
LaBelle is accused of stabbing her 11-year-old son in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2020. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and aggravated assault. The victim’s name cannot be disclosed due to a publication ban ordered by the court.
The post-mortem examination on the victim was performed by Von Both on Jan. 3, 2020 in Toronto. The examination revealed a total of 31 stab and incise wounds to the victim’s back, arms, hands, and chest.
Several stab wounds penetrated through the skin and soft tissue and impacted vital organs, including the spleen, liver, lungs, and heart.
According to Von Both, the damage to the spleen and liver did not result in very much internal bleeding, likely due to a significant loss of blood from other wounds, and while they could have been fatal if left untreated, the wounds did not result in the death of the victim.
The wounds to the lungs were considered more significant. There were several nicks and punctures to the upper lobes of both lungs, which would have resulted in them collapsing.
The most significant wounds impacted the victim’s heart. One stab wound penetrated the right atrium or chamber of the heart and a second wound penetrated the left ventricle, resulting in a significant loss of blood.
“In most instances, without any immediate intervention, these injuries, even if they are small, they lead to death because the heart pumps and it squeezes out the blood,” Von Both said. “This is a very significant injury. There was significant damage to the heart. This is where he lost his blood.”
Von Both also pointed out several stab and incise wounds to the victim’s hands, arms, and fingers, which he described as defensive in nature.
“If a person is approached with a sharp instrument, in order to defend themselves they can use their arms, hands, legs, and feet to prevent themselves from being injured. If I see them on the arm, hand, feet, or legs, by definition we classify them as defensive type wounds,” he said.
“Of the 31 injuries sustained, a number were sustained by the victim trying to protect himself.”
According to hospital records, the victim was declared deceased in hospital at 8:12 a.m., approximately one hour after the attack took place.
Von Both clarified during cross-examination by defense counsel Gil Labine that even if an individual is declared dead at a specific time, it does not necessarily mean that person showed any significant vital signs leading up to that point.
“[The victim] would have deteriorated quickly,” he said. “But sometimes the time of pronouncement doesn’t always mean the person who died was up and well up to this point.”
The Crown also called Thunder Bay Police Service Staff Sgt. Chris Carlucci to testify on Friday.
Carlucci was the first officer to enter the home on Victoria Avenue West on the morning of Jan. 1, 2020, after receiving a report of a mother stabbing her child.
Upon entering the home, he said he observed the victim on the floor of the living room covered in what appeared to be blood. He also saw a man holding down a woman in the corner.
Carlucci testified that when he was dispatched to the scene he was informed the mother was being restrained by someone in the home and he assumed that is what he saw when he entered.
Earlier testimony by Eugene LaBelle, Courtney LaBelle’s father, revealed he tackled her and held her down on the floor after he saw her standing over the victim with a knife and moving her arm in a stabbing motion downward.
Fearing for his safety and that of others inside the residence, Carlucci said he needed to act quickly and he either removed or threw Eugene LaBelle off of Courtney LaBelle.
According to Carlucci, Courtney LaBelle was laying on her stomach with her arms tucked underneath her body. He testified that he ordered her to show him her hands but she did not comply.
Carlucci said he was still fearing for his safety and the safety of two other officers who were now inside the residence providing first aid to the victim, adding he did not know if LaBelle still had the knife in her hand.
“I delivered a closed fist punch to the side of the female’s face, I did this to hopefully assist in the arrest of the female,” he said. “At this point I felt her hands had gone loose and I was able to secure her hands in handcuffs.”
Carlucci clarified during cross-examination by Labine that LaBelle’s hands became loose after he made the second command following the punch.
“I would suggest to you her hands loosened because you punched her in the face,” Labine said.
“I couldn’t say,” Carlucci responded.
“You just described that after you punched her in the face, her hands became loose," said Labine.
“After I punched her in the face, I gave her a secondary command to show me her hands and her hands then became loose,” Carlucci said, adding that it could have been a combination of both the punch and the command that resulted in LaBelle loosening her hands.
Labine also asked how LaBelle was handcuffed, with Carlucci saying he secured her hands behind her back.
Officers who transported LaBelle to the Thunder Bay Police Service headquarters testified that at one point she attempted to choke herself with the chain of the handcuffs.
Carlucci said he does not know if one of the officers would have switched her hands to be secured in the front, but said it’s not uncommon for some people to slip the cuffs, meaning they are able to step through their secured arms with their legs and move their hands to the front.
Crown attorney, Andrew Sadler, informed the court that the Crown had concluded its evidence. The trial will continue on Monday, with the defense expected to present its evidence.
