Mother Convicted On Disgraced Pathologist’s Testimony Freed On Bail
Posted March 12, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A mother who was convicted of killing her young son based partially on the testimony of a disgraced pathologist has been freed on bail.
Tammy Marquardt, 37, had been in prison serving a life sentence since 1995. She was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of her two-year-old boy, Kenneth.
There were cheers in the courtroom when the bail decision was announced Thursday. She was the last parent still in prison based on the testimony of Dr Charles Smith.
“It’s amazing, totally amazing, I’m just really excited to be out now,” she nervously told reporters Thursday.
“Today I finally have my day, this is my day, I’m out, I made it,” she beamed.
Marquardt has always maintained her innocence and claims Kenneth died after he became tangled up in his bed sheets in October of 1993. However, Smith said she likely smothered or strangled the boy. Medical experts now believe he may have actually died after suffering an epileptic seizure.
Her lawyers believe she will soon be fully exonerated.
“We are waiting for a decision from the Supreme Court of Canada,” notes attorney James Lockyer. “We’ve asked them to re-open the case so it can be reconsidered by the Court of Appeal.”
Smith was the subject of an investigation into Ontario’s child forensic pathology system. The Goudge Report found that Smith “achieved the status of a leading expert in the field in large part because there was no one who had the training, experience and expertise to take him on.”
Justice Stephen Goudge contends the once-esteemed doctor “admitted his own arrogance” and “actively misled” his superiors and the courts.
Since then, several other cases that relied on Smith’s testimony have been retried or dismissed.
Marquardt had another child while awaiting trial and was pregnant when she went to prison. Those children are now 12 and 14 years old and have been adopted. Now that she’s free, she says she hopes they try to contact her.
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