REGINA – More audio recordings and video interviews were presented during the seventh day of proceedings in the Whitby second-degree murder trial.
Taking place in Regina Court of King’s Bench, Chelsea Rae Whitby is accused of the charge, involving the death of her 18-month old son, Emerson William Bryan Whitby.
A phone conversation between Whitby, her mother (Lisa Virtue), and an unnamed participant centred around the death of Whitby’s then boyfriend, Taylor Stewart.
Early in the conversation, Whitby indicated she had deeply felt the weight of his death by suicide.
“Because I’ve been really nasty to him the last couple weeks,” she said when asked about carrying the guilt. “I feel like it was my fault.”
The unknown participant assured Whitby that “this was his choice,” and not her fault.
On the night in question, according to the phone conversation intercepted by police, Stewart had been out driving and arrived back at Whitby’s apartment around 4 a.m. The two had a conversation outside the apartment, then he left again around 5 a.m. That would be the last time Whitby saw Stewart alive.
According to evidence made during testimony, and the phone conversation, Stewart’s truck was discovered east of Regina, in the RM of Edenwold. His body was found a distance away from the truck.
“Losing a boyfriend and a son in six weeks, I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” Whitby said during the phone call.
She also felt the interrogation by police played a part in Stewart’s stress level, equating it to a factor in his death.
When Whitby was asked if Stewart had ever harmed Emerson, she was quick to remove doubt.
“No, he would never hurt Buggy,” she said. “He loved Buggy.”
Video of non-custodial statements where Stewart was being interviewed were played during proceedings. Twice during an hour-long interview on Jun 11, 2020, Stewart was asked what he thought happened to Emerson, who died within the previous 24 hours.
“I have no idea,” he replied.
When asked to detail events of the previous morning, Stewart relayed how he woke up around 8:15 a.m., as did his two girls. He left for the store around 9:30 a.m. to buy some milk and cigarettes, then returned to the apartment.
“I came back to the house and Chelsea came running downstairs with him (Emerson) … said he wasn’t breathing,” Stewart told the police officer interviewing him, adding that he then took Emerson back upstairs and began CPR in the apartment until the fire department arrived.
Prior to the trip to the store, Stewart recalled that Whitby checked the baby monitor, which revealed Emerson had rolled over. They decided to let the toddler sleep due to a later than usual bedtime the previous night, when Emerson vomited as his father, Riley Jolly, brought him back. Stewart recalled Emerson being ill that same morning, June 9, 2020.
Both Whitby and Stewart thought the milk Emerson had in his bottle might have upset his stomach, hence the purpose of Stewart picking up a different kind at the store on the morning of June 10. Moments before Stewart’s return from the store, Whitby went in to wake Emerson, but discovered him unresponsive.
When asked about how discipline was handled in their household, Stewart noted Emerson did not receive physical redirection, aside from one incident he observed.
“He got a smack on the hand once that I’ve seen from Chelsea,” he said, explaining that the toddler kept trying to investigate a drawer after being repeatedly told not to.
The interview also established Stewart’s background leading up to the relationship with Whitby. He had been working in Estevan on service rigs, then with a drilling company until being laid off. A job offer in Regina saw him move, and he was married to the mother of his girls in September of 2019. The relationship soured, and by the following January, Stewart was separated from his spouse and began seeing more of Whitby. By the end of March, 2020, he was staying at her apartment. Stewart could not have his daughters at his previous residence (with his parents) during parenting time as a family member living there was immunocompromised. With this timeframe being the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, staying with Whitby was an optimal solution.
During a second interview held July 15, 2020, an officer advised Stewart that the injuries Emerson had, he “didn’t do it to himself.”
“Is that a for-sure thing?” Stewart asked, which the officer confirmed. In fact, that information was transmitted to Whitby and Jolly at Regina General Hospital the day Emerson died.
Much of this interview rehashed questions Stewart had previously answered, revealing the same answers. Where the line of questioning deviated from previous information was when the officer noted there were only four people who had access to Emerson in the time of death - being Stewart’s daughters, Stewart and Whitby.
“I’m quite certain neither one of your girls would cause the injuries,” the officer said. “That means that in the end, there’s only two people.”
“You understand what I’m getting at, right?” he continued. “What is it that you can do 100 per cent that it wasn’t you?”
Stewart responded, “I’ll do a lie detector test.”
The interviewer also referred to the doctor’s report, especially the statement “constellation of injuries” found therein.
“That suggests to me that there wasn’t one single event, although one single event clearly caused the death of Emerson,” he said, adding that the statement “suggests what the doctor calls ‘ongoing child maltreatment’.”
When Stewart was asked about witnessing any abuse toward Emerson, he replied “no.”
The Court is expected to hear testimony from a forensic pathologist tomorrow, plus the continuation of an in-custody video interview of Whitby from 2020.
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