# data[].attributes.body
In this document is a summary of Maria's case. As well as my opinion on compensation.

# data[].attributes.headline
Charles Smith had falsified information that led to the wrongful conviction of 13 individuals. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Charles Smith had falsified information that led to the wrongful conviction of 13 individuals. 

# data[].attributes.body
In this photo is one of the individuals holding a picture of their child.

# data[].attributes.body
Innocence Canada is a non-profit organization dedicated to identifying, advocating for, and exonerating individuals committed of a crime they did not commit (Innocence Canada, 1993)

# data[].attributes.body
This is Kasandra, the little girl that went undiagnosed in the hospital and then passed away due to health complications. The death of Kasandra lead to the conviction of Maria..

# data[].attributes.headline
'Dr' Charles Smith Was Never Charged For His Incompetence

# data[].attributes.subject
'Dr' Charles Smith Was Never Charged For His Incompetence

# data[].attributes.body
Victims of Charles Smiths actions are astonished that he escaped a conviction and charges. Incompetence is not against the law. In this video, Brenda Waudby, also wrongfully convicted due to results of Smiths autopsy reports, speaks out about how it effected her, she wonders where he is today and why he was not charged

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Incompetent' pathologist ruined countless lives, but why was Charles Smith never charged? | Watch News Videos Online

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Watch 'Incompetent' pathologist ruined countless lives, but why was Charles Smith never charged? Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

# data[].attributes.headline
Since Maria's Acquittal She has Been Sharing Her Story, in Hopes it Does Not Happen To Someone Else. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Since Maria's Acquittal She has Been Sharing Her Story, in Hopes it Does Not Happen To Someone Else. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's a parent's worst nightmare; the death of a child, and then, the unthinkable - to be accused - and then wrongfully convicted, of the crime. In 1991, that's exactly what happened to Maria Shepherd.

Maria's three-and-a-half-year-old step-daughter Kasandra died after having already been ill and in hospital for some time. It has since been found that she likely died from natural causes. But at the time, it was alleged she was killed from a blow to the head from an object that matched the shape of Maria's watch. Days after her death, police launched an investigation that Maria found herself at the centre of.

After a false confession, Maria spent eight months in prison after receiving a two-year sentence in exchange for her plea. She left two children behind while she was in prison, and she was also pregnant at the time.

The case evidence was based on the findings of the infamous and now-disgraced pathologist Charles Smith. Maria was acquitted 25 years later and, since then, she's been sharing her story to make sure this never happens again.

As a paralegal, Maria has dedicated her life to helping people in cases of wrongful convictions. She's also a director on the board of Innocence Canada, the organization that supported her through this process.

You can learn more about Maria's story in the video clip above.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
This woman was wrongfully convicted in her step-daughter's death

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's a parent's worst nightmare; the death of a child, and then, the unthinkable - to be accused - and then wrongfully convicted, of the crime. In 1991, that's exactly what happened to Maria Shepherd. Maria's three-and-a-half-year-old step-daughter Kasandra died after having already been ill and in hospital for some time.

# data[].attributes.headline
Dr. Smith Made Mistakes in 20 Cases Involving the Deaths of Children, 13 Resulting in Wrongful Convictions

# data[].attributes.subject
Dr. Smith Made Mistakes in 20 Cases Involving the Deaths of Children, 13 Resulting in Wrongful Convictions

# data[].attributes.body
Dr. Smith was the cause of 13 wrongful convictions. Smith being a child involved in the foster system, stated he "has a thing against people who hurt children." Dr. Smith was the pathologist in charge of the autopsy of Maria Shepherd's step daughter. After the acquittal of Maria, the 13 others that were wrongfully convicted because of Dr. Smiths autopsy results were also acquitted.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On a typical case, he might have to decide whether a child had been shaken to death or accidentally fallen from a highchair.

Dr. Charles Smith was once considered top-notch in his field of forensic child pathology. In 1999, a Fifth Estate documentary singled him out as one of four Canadians with this rare expertise.

For 24 years, Smith worked at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. In the hospital's pediatric forensic pathology unit, he conducted more than 1,000 child autopsies.

But Smith no longer practises pathology. An Ontario coroner's inquiry reviewed 45 child autopsies in which Smith had concluded the cause of death was either homicide or criminally suspicious.

The coroner's review found that Smith made questionable conclusions of foul play in 20 of the cases - 13 of which had resulted in criminal convictions. After the review's findings were made public in April 2007, Ontario's government ordered a public inquiry into the doctor's practices.

That inquiry, led by Justice Stephen Goudge and concluding in October 2008, found that Smith "actively misled" his superiors, "made false and misleading statements" in court and exaggerated his expertise in trials.

Far from an expert in forensic child pathology, "Smith lacked basic knowledge about forensic pathology," wrote Goudge in the inquiry report.

"Smith was adamant that his failings were never intentional," Goudge wrote. "I simply cannot accept such a sweeping attempt to escape moral responsibility."

Two years later, the Ontario government announced compensation for families affected by Smith's mistakes.

Individuals will be entitled to a maximum of $250,000 each. A child of someone wrongfully accused who was removed from the family home as a result is entitled to up to $25,000.

A family member directly affected by a relative's involvement in the criminal justice system is entitled to up to $12,500. Legal costs incurred by the wrongly accused may also be reimbursed.

Acted more like a prosecutor

Some have accused Smith of taking on a role larger than pathologist. The lawyer for Brenda Waudby said he was on a crusade and acted more like a prosecutor. Waudby was convicted in the murder of her daughter after Smith analyzed the case.

A pubic-like hair found on her daughter disappeared during Smith's investigation. It was discovered he had kept the hair in his office before police found it five years later. In the end, the charges against Waudby were dropped and the child's babysitter was convicted.

Smith said he had a passion for uncovering the truth in child deaths. The Ontario pathologist told media lampooning him he had "a thing against people who hurt children." He welled up when speaking about a mother looking for the cause of her baby's death.

Smith had been in search of his own personal truths. He was born in a Toronto Salvation Army hospital where he was put up for adoption three months later. After years of looking for his biological mother, he called her on her 65th birthday. But she refused to take his call.

Smith's adoptive family moved often. His father's job in the Canadian Forces took them throughout Canada and to Germany. He attended high school in Ottawa, and graduated from medical school at the University of Saskatchewan in 1975.

Sick Kids tenure

Hired by Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children in 1979, Smith worked in surgery for a year and then moved on to pathology training. A pathologist studies diseases and illnesses by assessing matter such as cells, tissues, organs and fluids. Pathologists also examine biopsy material, and give a subsequent diagnosis.

When it comes to autopsy reports, the field of pathology can be a subjective one. It's based on research and opinion, and it's especially controversial in Canada, where there is no formal training or certification process. Only a handful of practitioners in Ontario are entrusted with the job - and they've learned by doing.

With child victims, forensic analysis is rarely cut and dried. It can take an infant up to 24 hours to die of a shaking incident, which is a crime that doesn't leave evidence the way a regular killing might.

After his initial training at Sick Kids, as the Toronto hospital is known, Smith began conducting child autopsies in 1981. He started with children who had died of accidental and natural causes. By the late '90s, Smith saw more forensic child cases than any other pathologist across the country.

Smith's unit used arrest warrants to reinvestigate cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). He oversaw the autopsies of exhumed babies that led to new murder charges.

In one such case, Smith appeared before a court in the death of six-month-old Sara Podniewicz. He concluded she had been dead for up to 15 hours before her parents reported the death. The parents had told a 911 operator the girl had died just moments before. Smith's analysis led to second-degree murder charges.

In December 2009, Sherry Sherrett-Robinson was acquitted of killing her son whom Smith had concluded died of asphyxia a decade earlier. Smith suggested Sherrett-Robinson's son, Joshua, suffered a skull fracture and neck hemorrhages. Ontario's chief forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Pollanen, however, told the Ontario Court of Appeal that he did not find a skull fructure and noted the neck hemorrhages were caused during the autopsy process.

First doubts

In 1991, a family in Timmins, Ont., was the first to raise questions about Smith's work. He had concluded their one-year-old baby had died from being shaken. The child had been under the care of a babysitter who said the baby had fallen down stairs.

In court, experts challenged Smith's opinion, which had resulted in the babysitter's charge of manslaughter. The judge in the case stated Smith should have taken other causes into consideration.

Once the most prolific pathologist, Smith began getting a reputation for late cases, and his disorderly desk produced samples that had gone missing.

In 2002, he received a caution from the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons. The college said he was being "overly dogmatic" and had a "tendency towards overstatement."

In June 2005, Dr. Barry McLellan, Ontario's chief coroner, started the review of 45 child autopsies conducted by Smith between 1991 and 2002. The review, released in April 2007, found that Smith had made mistakes in 20 cases involving the deaths of children. The review cast doubt on criminal convictions in 13 of the cases.

"I am very surprised with the overall results of the review, and concerned," McLellan said. "In a number of cases, the reviewers felt that Dr. Smith had provided an opinion regarding the cause of death that was not reasonably supported by the materials available for review."

The chief coroner said the results of the review were being shared with defence and Crown attorneys involved in all of the relevant criminal cases.

After resigning from Sick Kids in 2005, Smith accepted a pathology position in Saskatoon. He was fired after three months. A tribunal later reinstated him, but without a licence, Smith was unable to practise.

Smith told media his marriage ended in light of stress from the highly publicized events. He had lived with his wife and two children on a farm north of Newmarket, Ont.

As a member of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Smith says he has been fuelled by his life's purpose - finding out the truth for parents who have lost babies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dr. Charles Smith: The man behind the public inquiry | CBC News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dr. Charles Smith was once considered top-notch in his field of forensic child pathology. But Smith no longer practises pathology. An Ontario coroner's inquiry reviewed 45 child autopsies in which Smith had concluded the cause of death was either homicide or criminally suspicious.

# data[].attributes.headline
Getting a Closer Look at the Case of Maria Shepherd

# data[].attributes.subject
Getting a Closer Look at the Case of Maria Shepherd

# data[].attributes.body
This article gives more detail about the victim, as well as Maria. It's stated that Kasandra was Maria's stepdaughter. Maria mentions that she was forced into pleading guilty.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Photographs of young Kasandra are cherished by the Shepherd family, but you won't find any on display in their Brampton home.

The images of the toddler come out just twice a year, a private indulgence reserved for Kasandra's birthday in mid-December, then Christmas, when the 3-year-old known as KC looks out from an ornament hung on the tree.

Maria Shepherd was convicted of manslaughter in the death of her 3-yr-old stepdaughter, Kasandra. Dr. Charles Smith was the pathologist on the case. Decades later, Shepherd is expected to be acquitted. (Rick Madonik / Toronto Star)

Come January the photos are once again tucked away, where they can't prompt painful questions from those who don't know the family's tragedy - one that was only beginning on the spring day in 1991 when Kasandra died.

Nearly 25 years after she was convicted of manslaughter in the death of her stepdaughter, Maria Shepherd hopes the injustice that resulted from that tragedy will finally be undone inside Ontario's Court of Appeal this week.

"I'm hoping and I'm praying," Shepherd said in an emotional recent interview, "that the truth will be out and we will be free."

Shepherd was 21, pregnant and facing serious jail time when her lawyer told her she stood little chance against the "best of the best" - Dr. Charles Smith, the forensic child pathologist implicating her in Kasandra's death.

Under enormous pressure, Shepherd pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a calculated move made to limit the impact on her children, but which came at the expense of the truth.

She did not know that nearly two decades later, an unprecedented review of Smith's work would reveal the pathologist made egregious errors in 20 child death cases, including Kasandra's.

In 2009, the Ontario Court of Appeal allowed Shepherd, now 46, to appeal her conviction and ask the court for an acquittal. Court documents filed earlier this month show the Attorney General agrees the conviction should be quashed "in the interest of justice."

The evidence from Smith "was fundamentally flawed," writes Howard Leibovich, counsel for the Attorney General of Ontario. New evidence from forensic experts establishes Kasandra may have died of natural causes, and that her death should have been classified as "undetermined."

One expert called Smith's theory that Shepherd killed Kasandra with a blow to the head so hard it left an impression from her watch "complete nonsense." Another called it "pseudoscience."

It's expected Shepherd will become the latest of Smith's victims to be exonerated at her hearing Monday.

"I hope that the world can now know," Shepherd wrote in an affidavit to court, "that I did not assault or abuse Kasandra and did not cause her death."

The wristwatch theory

Ashley Shepherd called 911 on Tuesday, April 9, 1991.

"I need someone here please right away," the young father told the dispatcher, describing his 3-year-old daughter as "frozen."

"Wh-, wh-, what do you mean 'she's frozen,' sir?" the dispatcher asked, according to court filings.

"She's just laying stiff on the floor," Ashley replied. "... Her heartbeat's goin' too fast."

Kasandra was born on Dec. 15, 1987, to Ashley Shepherd and his then common-law partner, Amanda Hislop. The couple broke up six months after Kasandra was born, and Ashley began dating Maria, a young woman originally from the Philippines. She also had a child, Jordan, from a previous relationship. The couple married in August 1989.

A custody dispute erupted over Kasandra, but Ashley and Maria had her in the months before her death. The toddler lived in the couple's Brampton home alongside Jordan, as the Shepherds had two more children of their own (Maria later became pregnant with her and Ashley's third child).

In the final months of her life, Kasandra had increasingly serious health problems, and Shepherd began taking her to near weekly appointments. The family doctor believed a blood disorder could be causing her exhaustion, weight loss and frequent vomiting.

In February, 1991, Kasandra was admitted to hospital, where doctors performed a number of tests, with results indicating she might have epilepsy or a disease. Showing signs of improvement after a month in hospital, Kasandra was discharged in March.

But weeks later, she became gravely ill. She began vomiting continuously and going in and out of consciousness. Soon after Ashley's 911 call, Kasandra was rushed to a hospital in Peel Region, then transferred to the Hospital for Sick Children.

She was in a deep coma; her brain was swelling. Two days later, Kasandra was removed from life support.

Kasandra died at the age of 3 of causes that were never properly determined.

The following day, Smith - one of the most respected pathologists in the country at the time - conducted Kasandra's autopsy. He quickly homed in on what would become his key piece of evidence: a doughnut-shaped bruise deep in the tissue beneath Kasandra's skull.

Smith attributed the injury to a blow to the head, which caused fatal swelling. Kasandra, he concluded, was the victim of homicide. He asked police to find an object that was similarly shaped to the bruise.

Investigators came back with Shepherd's wristwatch. Smith then held the watch over a photograph of the bruise and said it was "a very nice fit."

"The watch measurements aligned with the marks on the victim's head. No question," an unknown police officer wrote in his or her notes three weeks after Kasandra's death, paraphrasing Smith. "Reasonable that a backhanded blow could cause this injury."

As police continued their investigation, Shepherd was told that there was medical evidence suggesting Kasandra had been hit on the back of the head with an object, sometime between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. on April 9.

In an interview, Shepherd told a detective that sometime in the afternoon on April 9, she did hit Kasandra on the back of the head with a sweeping motion, as she attempted to tend to her younger daughter, Natasha, who had fallen out of her bed. But it was passing contact, and Shepherd said she never struck her in a way that would cause injury.

Shepherd was charged with manslaughter, then released on bail with the condition that her children live with their grandmother.

To Thomas Wiley, Shepherd's lawyer, Smith's opinion was "seemingly unassailable," the lawyer wrote in his affidavit.

After Wiley consulted with another forensic pathologist who felt the watch theory had merit, Wiley told Shepherd she was likely to be convicted, calling Smith "a force to be reckoned with."

Shepherd knew that if the matter went to trial, her family would have to testify, an ordeal she did not want to force upon them. She was also told her sentence could be years longer if she was found guilty after a trial, and she might have to serve it at the Kingston Penitentiary for Women, hours away from her children.

She pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to two years less a day at Milton's Vanier Centre for Women.

"I was one small person in a sea of authority, and I was one person against someone who was looked at as a god-like figure in the medical field," Shepherd said.

"I would never have pled guilty if I knew then what I know now about Dr. Smith and Kasandra's death."

Smith's evidence "complete nonsense"

Shepherd had long been out of jail, reunited with her family, and was attempting to lead a normal life when Dr. Smith's world began crumbling around him.

In 2005, complaints about his work lead to a review of his cases and a public inquiry, ultimately identifying 20 cases where Smith had made fundamental errors. Kasandra's case was among them.

Reviewing Shepherd's conviction for Ontario's coroner's office, forensic pathologist Dr. Helen Whitwell tore Smith's work apart, calling his technique of overlaying Shepherd's watch on the photo of the bruise "complete nonsense."

Whitwell criticized Smith's claim that he could identify a window within a few hours of when Kasandra was struck in the head, saying it is not possible to narrow it down so precisely. Whitwell added that the pathologist's testimony at Shepherd's preliminary hearing was neither balanced nor reasonable.

"Difficult case," Whitwell wrote in an assessment on Dec. 7, 2006. "Dr. Smith showed a lack of forensic knowledge relating in particular to the bruise over the back of the head and its causation."

Importantly, Whitwell noted that Smith did not explore the possibility that epilepsy, or seizures, were the cause of death - a possibility also raised by other forensic medical experts who were consulted on Shepherd's case.

One forensic pathologist gave the opinion that Kasandra could have developed a "rapidly progressive neurological disorder that started with vomiting and seizures and ended with in coma and brain death." In all, Shepherd's appeal sought out the opinion of five forensic experts, all of whom discounted Smith's watch theory.

None could conclusively determine Kasandra's cause of death. In the eyes of the law, that means there is no reasonable prospect of conviction.

For Shepherd, an acquittal would be hugely significant. She has maintained that she did not cause Kasandra's death, but without an official ruling, "there's still an element of doubt, regardless of what I say."

But like so many of Smith's victims, Shepherd will never get her life back. The damage is done.

"It has undoubtedly destroyed our lives forever, in many, many ways," Shepherd says.

Shepherd's lawyer, James Lockyer, declined to speak about the case prior to the hearing Monday.

If she is acquitted, Shepherd plans to visit Kasandra's grave in Mississauga with Ashley, her husband of 26 years, and her children, now adults. "This time we're going to join hands and be there together, with some closure," she says.

Then Shepherd will go home and hang Kasandra's photo prominently on the wall.
OTHER SMITH ACQUITTALS
Disgraced pathologist Charles Smith made mistakes in 20 death investigations in which people were criminally charged, convicted or otherwise implicated in the deaths of children. These cases include:

Tammy Marquardt, who was convicted in 1995 of first-degree murder in the death of her son, Kenneth Wynne, 2, and served nearly 14 years in prison before her conviction was overturned in 2011.

Dinesh Kumar, who was convicted of criminal negligence causing death, in the 1992 death of his 5-week-old son, Gaurov. The Ontario Court of Appeal acquitted him in 2011.

William Mullins-Johnson, who was wrongly convicted in 1994 of murdering and sodomizing his 4-year-old niece. He spent 12 years in jail on a first-degree murder conviction before he was acquitted.

Richard Brandt, who was wrongly convicted of aggravated assault relating to the death of his 2-month-old son Dustin. It was overturned in May 2011.

Brenda Waudby, who was charged with murder in the death of her 21-month-old daughter Jenna. In 2005, Waubdy's babysitter confessed to beating and sexually abusing the baby.
With files from the Star archives A TIMELINE OF THE CASE
April 11, 1991: Kasandra Shepherd, 3, dies in hospital, two days after she began repeatedly vomiting and losing consciousness.

April 24, 1991: After Dr. Charles Smith conducts an autopsy and concludes the cause of death was cranio-cerebral trauma as a result of abuse, Kasandra's step-mother, 21-year-old Maria Shepherd, is charged with manslaughter.

October 1992: Shepherd first pleads not guilty to manslaughter, then changes her plea to guilty after her lawyer warns her that forensic pathologist Dr. Smith is "the best of the best." She is sentenced to two years less a day in jail.

March 18, 1992: Kasandra's family doctor is arrested and charged with obstructing justice for telling police that bruises on Kasandra could have been the result of a blood disorder. The case was thrown out before trial.

June 21, 1993: Shepherd is granted parole, and immediately begins proceedings to regain custody of her children (she was awarded full custody in 1995). Soon after her release, she begins working as a paralegal.

November 1997: A coroner's inquest into Kasandra's death calls for a massive overhaul of Ontario's child protection system. The jury made 73 recommendations aimed at preventing and detecting child abuse to avoid future deaths.

November 2005: After mounting criticism of Smith's work, Ontario's Chief coroner takes the unprecedented step of calling for the review of more than 40 of his child death cases.

April, 2007: The review finds that Smith had made questionable findings in 20 cases dating back to 1991. Twelve of those cases resulted in criminal convictions. His errors included bungling autopsies, misdiagnosing causes of death and overselling his expertise.

December 2007: An inquiry led by Ontario Court of Appeal Judge Stephen Goudge, examining pediatric forensic pathology, begins in Toronto.

October 2008: Goudge releases an in-depth report, making 169 recommendations "necessary to restore and enhance public confidence in pediatric forensic pathology." He found Smith was "arrogant" despite lacking basic knowledge about forensic pathology, provided erroneous opinions and made false and misleading statements in court.

May 2009: Ontario Court of Appeal allows Shepherd to appeal her conviction.

Febr. 2, 2011: Ontario's College of Physicians and Surgeons strips Smith of his licence to practise medicine in Ontario, finding he was incompetent and had committed professional misconduct. The move was more symbolic than practical, since Smith had allowed his licence to expire.

February 2016: The Attorney General of Ontario recommends in court documents that Shepherd's guilty plea and conviction should be struck and an acquittal entered, calling Smith's evidence "fundamentally flawed."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Woman implicated by Charles Smith's flawed evidence hopes for 'closure and peace' | The Star

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Photographs of young Kasandra are cherished by the Shepherd family, but you won't find any on display in their Brampton home. The images of the toddler come out just twice a year, a private indulgence reserved for Kasandra's birthday in mid-December, then Christmas, when the 3-year-old known as KC looks out from an ornament hung on the tree.

# data[].attributes.headline
Shortly After Maria's Acquittal Maria Makes a Statement

# data[].attributes.subject
Shortly After Maria's Acquittal Maria Makes a Statement

# data[].attributes.body
Maria mentions she is grateful to be able to be a parent to her children without these extreme charges hanging over her.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Maria Shepherd's 1992 manslaughter conviction quashed

# data[].attributes.headline
Maria Shepherd wrongfully convicted by flawed forensic and expert testimony, acquitted after 25 years!

# data[].attributes.subject
Maria Shepherd wrongfully convicted by flawed forensic and expert testimony, acquitted after 25 years!

# data[].attributes.body
In this article there are comments made by the Crown Attorney, as well as Maria's defence lawyer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ontario's top court has formally acquitted a woman who pleaded guilty 25 years ago to killing her three-year-old
stepdaughter.

The decision in favour of Maria Shepherd, of Brampton, Ont., came after a short hearing at the urging of both Crown and defence.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario took just a few minutes to render its decision.

Shepherd pleaded guilty in 1992 to manslaughter in the death of Kasandra Shepherd following evidence presented by now-disgraced pathologist Charles Smith.

Defence lawyer, James Lockyer, with the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, told the justices that other experts have now concluded Smith's opinion was seriously flawed.

'Miscarriage of justice'

Crown attorney Howard Leibovich agreed, and urged Shepherd's conviction be quashed in favour of an acquittal.

He said a "miscarriage of justice" had occurred, and Shepherd would not have pleaded guilty had she known what she knows now.

"This is a tragic case," Leibovich said. "Kasandra deserved better. Her family deserved better. [Shepherd] deserved better."

Speaking for the court, Justice David Watt exonerated Shepherd, saying Smith's evidence had been the "linchpin" for the Crown's case against her.

The justice system, he said, held out a "powerful inducement" for her to plead guilty given that she faced a possible lengthy prison sentence had she been convicted after a trial, Watt said.

"The appeal is allowed," Watt said. "The plea of guilty and conviction is set aside and an acquittal entered."

Smith's autopsy on the girl was one of many suspicious child deaths he had done, several leading to wrongful convictions.

Speaking to reporters outside the court shortly after her conviction was quashed, Shepherd said she was "elated" by the decision after wearing the label of "baby killer" for more than two decades.

"This didn't come without a lot of quiet tears and anguish at home," she said. "I am innoc ent. I didn't do anything but care for Kasandra . I loved her as if she was born to me."

Shepherd said she forgives Smith, who she said was treated "like a God" by those in the court system.

A 'long and terrible ordeal'

A review of Smith's work and subsequent public inquiry uncovered numerous examples where he made serious mistakes. He was stripped of his medical licence in 2011.

Court documents show Kasandra began vomiting and became unresponsive in April 1991 after a long period of ill health. She died two days after being admitted to hospital.

Smith concluded she died from trauma due to at least one blow of "significant force."

Shepherd had told police she pushed the child once, with her wrist and watch hitting the girl on the back of the head, but said she didn't believe the blow could have killed the girl.

'I did not cause Kasandra's death'

Her lawyer at the time consulted an outside expert who agreed Smith's theory was reasonable, prompting her to plead guilty to manslaughter. She was sentenced to two years less a day.

"I did not cause Kasandra's death, and my conviction for doing so has haunted me ever since," Shepherd said in a recent affidavit.

Forensic experts have now concluded Smith's testimony at Shepherd's court hearing contained a "number of significant
errors."

The theory now is that Kasandra may have had a previous brain injury that caused seizures or that she suddenly developed a seizure disorder that killed her.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Maria Shepherd 'elated' after 1992 conviction in stepdaughter's death quashed | CBC News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An Ontario judge has set aside a guilty plea in a 25-year-old manslaughter case involving a woman who pleaded guilty in the death of her stepdaughter following evidence presented by a now-disgraced pathologist.