An expert in the forensic examination and retrieval of data from computers and digital storage devices is providing testimony on day ten of the double murder trial for Edward Downey.
Downey, 48, is on trial for two counts of first-degree murder in the July 2016 deaths of Sara Baillie and her daughter Taliyah Marsman.
On Thursday, court heard from a cellphone analyst with the Calgary Police Service who told the jury how cellphone calls led to the discovery of the little girl's body.
Patricia Pace said that call records for Downey's phone showed extensive activity in an area east of the city and that a map produced from the data helped police locate Taliyah's body.
Under cross examination, defence lawyer Gavin Wolch asked about Sara Baillie’s phone use and Pace said there were Internet use and short code messages, on July 12, 2016. She explained that short code messages are usually appointment reminders or advertisements.
An expert in forensic entomology, also testified and said that based on her findings, she believed that Taliyah died on or before July 12, 2016.
On Friday, the first witness was CPS detective Matt Demarino, who was asked about Edward Downey’s height.
Next to be called was Cst. Kevin Erickson, who said he met with Downey’s girlfriend, who can only be identified as AB. Erickson said they drove from the daycare AB worked at and went to two green spaces near Baillie’s home.
After the morning break, Cst. Oleg Seleznov, an expert in the forensic examination, identification and retrieval of digital data, testified.
Seleznov examined a number of electronic exhibits as part of the investigation including an iPad from Baillie’s home. He said investigators needed to know if the iPad had any data on it that could assist with the investigation.
Earlier in the trial, Baillie’s aunt told the court that Taliyah didn’t go anywhere without the tablet and that it was plugged in and fully charged when it was taken into evidence by investigators.
He said that the last FaceTime call from the iPad was made on July 10 at 6:05 p.m. to the contact ‘daddy’, which lasted 8 minutes and 58 seconds.
The court took a break for lunch at about 12:30 p.m. and Seleznov was back on the stand in the afternoon.
The jury was shown a short, selfie video of Taliyah Marsman from July 10, 2016 showing her loose tooth.
The video was taken the day before she went missing and family members wept openly in the courtroom as the footage was played.
Saleznov said that the last activity on the tablet was from July 11 at 10:19 a.m., which is the same day that Baillie was found dead.
He also examined an unlocked, Samsung cellphone and said that it had no texts, calls or communication on it and that he was unable to determine if it was brand new or had been restored to factory settings.
The defence asked if data could be recovered after a factory reset and Saleznov said it would depend on the device.
A judge and jury, consisting of five men and seven women, are hearing the case, which is scheduled until the end of next week.
More to come…
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