A St. Catharines man has been found guilty of manslaughter in the death of his infant grandson.
One-year-old Kody Smart died in July 2015, while in the care of his 40 year old grandfather Brian Matthews.
He suffered severe injuries, including bleeding in his brain and eye haemorrhaging He died in hospital 2 days later.
Matthews was arrested and charged by Niagara Regional Police in November 2015.
Throughout, he has maintained that the family’s 80 pound dog jumped off the couch and knocked the boy over. The Crown disputed that, with witnesses testifying that it didn’t explain the baby’s severe injuries and Justice Joseph Nadel called the defence’s argument “unbelievable”.
Closing arguments in the case wrapped in December.