especially when sheâd urinate or defecate in her pants after Kematch refused to let her go to the washroom. Sometimes McKay and Kematch would throw Phoenix around, either to the ground or into furniture, he said. They also shaved the girlâs head bald, court was told.
Kematchâs lawyer, Roberta Campbell, suggested to the teen in cross-examination that it was McKay who was âmost violentâ with Phoenix. She also accused McKay of calling Phoenix degrading names like âfucking little babyâ and âwhoreâ while beating her.
âThey were doing the same thing, equally,â the teen replied.
âIsnât it true that sometimes he would hit Phoenix so much that she wouldnât even cry anymore?â asked Campbell.
âYes,â he answered.
McKayâs lawyer, Mike Cook, suggested some of Phoenixâs injuries could have been suffered during friendly âwrestling matchesâ that his client was having with the little girl. McKayâs son said he believed the physical abuse was intentional, not accidental.
Earlier in the day, the 10-woman, two man jury watched Kematchâs video statement in which she blamed McKay for Phoenixâs death and said he refused to let her go to police to disclose what happened.
âI feel ashamed. I feel stupid. She didnât deserve anything like that. I think about it every day,â she said. âI didnât want to see my kid like that. It hurt to see her like that. He wouldnât let me help her. Heâd get mad at me.â However, Kematch admitted to beating Phoenix at times for no clear reason. âIâd hit her because Iâd get mad at her. I knew that wasnât right,â she said.
Jurors heard how Phoenix spent her last hours naked, with an injury to her buttocks, lying on a cold basement floor. Kematch says McKay pushed her daughter violently to the ground, causing the child to bang her head on the concrete the day before her death. âI know it wasnât planned,â Kematch said. âWe didnât do it purposely. It was just something that got out of hand. An accident. This wasnât supposed to happen. I never wanted this to happen.â
She said McKay asked her to bring him a garbage bag to wrap the child in when they discovered the next day she wasnât breathing. She said McKay put Phoenix in the trunk of a car and buried her in a hole in a wooded area near the dump at Fisher River reserve.
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 13, 2008
Her cries for help would keep him awake at night, an injured little girl pleading for food and water in an unheated basement filled with garbage and cobwebs. But it was the sound of silence that triggered a young boy to make a horrible discovery in his own home. The youngest stepbrother of Phoenix Sinclair told a Winnipeg jury how he found the five-year-old girlâs body moments after she got what would be her final beating at the hands of her mother and stepfather. The boy, now 15, fought back tears as he described Phoenixâs final moments alive in June 2005.
âI went downstairs and there was no answer from her. I just touched her back and it was all cold. Her eyes were open. I put my hand on her mouth... she wasnât even breathing,â he said. His father, Karl McKay, and stepmother, Samantha Kematch, had been âtaking turnsâ beating Phoenix, he said, and then left the Fisher River First Nation home to visit a relative. âThey were passing her back and forth, punching her,â said the boy.
After finding Phoenixâs body, he called his grandfather looking for help. McKay and Kematch returned to the home, picked Phoenix up and placed her in a bathtub filled with warm water. âThey werenât even crying or anything,â the boy said. âIâd look at their faces. I saw no tears, nothing. They didnât even care what they were doing.â The couple finished washing her body, then wrapped her up in a
Kematchâs lawyer, Roberta Campbell, suggested to the teen in cross-examination that it was McKay who was âmost violentâ with Phoenix. She also accused McKay of calling Phoenix degrading names like âfucking little babyâ and âwhoreâ while beating her.
âThey were doing the same thing, equally,â the teen replied.
âIsnât it true that sometimes he would hit Phoenix so much that she wouldnât even cry anymore?â asked Campbell.
âYes,â he answered.
McKayâs lawyer, Mike Cook, suggested some of Phoenixâs injuries could have been suffered during friendly âwrestling matchesâ that his client was having with the little girl. McKayâs son said he believed the physical abuse was intentional, not accidental.
Earlier in the day, the 10-woman, two man jury watched Kematchâs video statement in which she blamed McKay for Phoenixâs death and said he refused to let her go to police to disclose what happened.
âI feel ashamed. I feel stupid. She didnât deserve anything like that. I think about it every day,â she said. âI didnât want to see my kid like that. It hurt to see her like that. He wouldnât let me help her. Heâd get mad at me.â However, Kematch admitted to beating Phoenix at times for no clear reason. âIâd hit her because Iâd get mad at her. I knew that wasnât right,â she said.
Jurors heard how Phoenix spent her last hours naked, with an injury to her buttocks, lying on a cold basement floor. Kematch says McKay pushed her daughter violently to the ground, causing the child to bang her head on the concrete the day before her death. âI know it wasnât planned,â Kematch said. âWe didnât do it purposely. It was just something that got out of hand. An accident. This wasnât supposed to happen. I never wanted this to happen.â
She said McKay asked her to bring him a garbage bag to wrap the child in when they discovered the next day she wasnât breathing. She said McKay put Phoenix in the trunk of a car and buried her in a hole in a wooded area near the dump at Fisher River reserve.
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 13, 2008
Her cries for help would keep him awake at night, an injured little girl pleading for food and water in an unheated basement filled with garbage and cobwebs. But it was the sound of silence that triggered a young boy to make a horrible discovery in his own home. The youngest stepbrother of Phoenix Sinclair told a Winnipeg jury how he found the five-year-old girlâs body moments after she got what would be her final beating at the hands of her mother and stepfather. The boy, now 15, fought back tears as he described Phoenixâs final moments alive in June 2005.
âI went downstairs and there was no answer from her. I just touched her back and it was all cold. Her eyes were open. I put my hand on her mouth... she wasnât even breathing,â he said. His father, Karl McKay, and stepmother, Samantha Kematch, had been âtaking turnsâ beating Phoenix, he said, and then left the Fisher River First Nation home to visit a relative. âThey were passing her back and forth, punching her,â said the boy.
After finding Phoenixâs body, he called his grandfather looking for help. McKay and Kematch returned to the home, picked Phoenix up and placed her in a bathtub filled with warm water. âThey werenât even crying or anything,â the boy said. âIâd look at their faces. I saw no tears, nothing. They didnât even care what they were doing.â The couple finished washing her body, then wrapped her up in a
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