Simpson Inquest to Continue Tuesday

By 250 News

    The  Coroner’s inquest into the death of 4 year old Amanda Jean Simpson has accepted testimony from  Amanda’s sister.

In a statement  taken  in 1999 when  Amanda died,   Amanda’s  then 8 year old sister  said  she had heard  “A loud thump upstairs, that sounded like someone being slammed against the floor.” In the statement she had given police 8 years ago, the  girl said  punishment around the home was administered by both her mother, Gerry Walton,  and her step father  Ronald  Polson. The Coroner cautioned the jury to remember that this statement was made by an 8 year old and they should place the appropriate weight to it.  

There have already been several different pictures of what happened painted for the Coroner’s inquest.

According to Dr. Sydney Pilley, the Attorney representing the Coroner’s office, says so far from evidence, this is what took place; Amanda apparently fell from the bunk bed, or fell down the stairs,  was brought up stairs by her older sister. At that point Polson put the 4 year old on his bed where she vomited. He then took her into the shower, on the way in he says he slipped and fell with the child in his arms striking the side of the tub, that, Polson believes, resulted in the massive head injury to the young girl. Amanda was then given a shower of between 2 and 4 minutes her clothes were changed and she was taken to the hospital.

The emergency nurse working at PGRH that night, Val Huber, broke down on the witness stand when she was asked how, 8 years later, she had such a vivid recollection of her part in looking after Amanda. She said, “I can’t forget.”   She described the young girl as having a body temperature like she had never seen.  “She was ice cold, had bruises all over her body and had a massive bruise to the head. We stabilized her before she was rushed off to Vancouver.”   She said the mother told her the child had fallen off a bunk bed, “But I found it hard to believe with all of those bruises.”

Dr. Marie Hay, a Prince George Paediatrician ,told the jury that she had seen Amanda before the evening of October 30-1999. She testified that the child was brought to her the first time on June 23-1999, after charges of a suspected abuse had been leveled. “She had a large bruise on the center of her head” Dr. Hay testified, “And when I asked her about it she said that her big sister had pushed her over the lawn mower. That seemed reasonable and I didn’t pursue that further.”  Dr. Hay says she examined Amanda for any signs of sexual abuse at that time “I didn’t see any reason to investigate further. I saw her again in the fall as a follow up, she had a big bruise in the center of her forehead.”   Amanda told her, her sister had pushed her into a wall.

“The next time I saw the child was on October 30^th-1999 when I was called to the hospital. This child was ice cold.”   Dr. Hay testified, her temperature was 31.6, normally that should be 37 degrees. “I think that in order to get a young body that cold you would have to completely submerge them in water for 10 to 15 minutes. Her heart beat was 40 it should have been 80 to 110.”

This young girl, said Dr. Hay, had two major injuries “A major trauma to the abdomen” which Dr. Hay testified was going to result in her death, and a massive head injury that had resulted in a skull fracture. “Blood was coming from her ears and her eyes she was bleeding from the mouth as well. I believe she would have died from the abdominal injury regardless of the brain injury”.  Hay said “I could never imagine that these injuries could occur from a fall. In my 30 years of practice I have never seen such injuries. The other bruises on this girl’s body were not associated with normal play.”

Dr. Hay says she had come in contact with the mother who was 26 at the time, “I was told she was well known to the Ministry of Children and Families.”  

The inquest resumes Tuesday.

Email | Print | Facebook | Twitter | Digg | Del.icio.us