Man charged in son’s death denies killing or abusing him

A man accused in the death of his 10-year-old son told a Toronto-area court Monday he struck the boy with a belt a few times for discipline, but denied abusing and fatally beating the child.

Garfield Boothe defended himself at his murder trial, testifying that he never punched or kicked Shakeil Boothe or chained him to his bed.

Asked whether he killed Shakeil the morning of May 26, 2011, Boothe was equally adamant.

“No, I did not,” he told the court.

“Did you beat him in any way that morning?” his defence lawyer John Rosen asked.

“No,” Boothe replied.

He and his wife Nichelle Boothe-Rowe are both charged with second-degree murder in Shakeil’s death.

The boy was found dead in his bed on May 27, 2011, but Boothe-Rowe testified she discovered his lifeless body in the basement the previous day.

The court has heard autopsy results showed heavy blows shortly before the boy’s death caused widespread internal bleeding that overwhelmed his body, already weakened by malnutrition and severe infection.

In his testimony, Boothe said Shakeil had a cold but otherwise looked fine that morning. He blamed any sign of malnutrition on the boy’s illness and his preference for junk food.

The first hint that something was wrong came halfway through Boothe’s shift when his wife called “in a panicked state,” he said. Though she didn’t explain what was wrong, her tone convinced Boothe to punch out and rush home, he said.

A second call came as the father was driving, he said.

“She say, ‘Shakeil, Shakeil, he’s gone,” he told the court.

But the words didn’t register until Boothe saw the boy lying facedown on the basement floor, he testified.

When he picked up the child’s body to bring him upstairs, he noticed “there was no life inside of him,” he said. The father said he didn’t notice any injuries on the boy’s face or body.

Boothe said he wanted to call 911 but his wife convinced him not to. He realized it would mean “trouble” for all of them, particularly the baby, who would be seized by child-welfare authorities, he said.

“At that point in time, I was more thinking of protecting Nichelle and (the baby)… I thought they should leave and I would take responsibility,” he said.

Court has heard Boothe-Rowe and the baby fled that night to the U.S. only to return a few days later after Boothe had been arrested. She was arrested at the border.

The couple have given conflicting accounts of what transpired in the home the day of Shakeil’s death and in the months leading up it.

Boothe-Rowe testified she was the one who wanted to call paramedics and her husband refused.

She painted her husband as a controlling patriarch who beat his wife and eldest son into submission.

The stepmother told the court she knew Shakeil was being beaten and chained up by his father, but didn’t tell authorities because she was afraid for her own safety and that of their infant son.

Boothe fought back against those allegations Monday, saying it was his wife’s idea to chain Shakeil because she couldn’t control him when her husband was out.

While he didn’t approve of the practice — “it’s not something normal to do” — Boothe said he didn’t stop her.

He recalled Boothe-Rowe telling him several times that she had hit Shakeil with a belt after he acted up, though the stepmother testified she only did so once.

Boothe also denied abusing and controlling his wife, but said their arguments often involved “pushing and shoving.”