NORFOLK, Va. — The prosecution rested their case on Wednesday afternoon in the trial for Hank Smith Jr., who is facing felony charges in the death of his four-year-old son
The last person to take the stand for the prosecution was a pathologist with the Medical Examiners Office.
She said the first thing she noticed about four-year-old Larkin Carr is he was a thin and small child. She said his weight was so low it was off the growth chart. She said Larkin had 80-100 bruises on his entire body.
An expert and doctor at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters said she believes Larkin suffered from nutritional and medical neglect. She said he lost about eight pounds from September 2018 to November 2018.
She also said Smith or Catherine Seals, Smith's girlfriend, should have taken Larkin to the doctor with all the bruises.
Jurors saw graphic photos from Larkin’s autopsy. The CHKD expert said Larkin had repetitive blunt force trauma in several areas of his body.
Seals told jurors she and her teenage son mainly took care of Larkin and his younger brother, while Smith worked out of town for several weeks at a time.
Seals said Larkin and his little brother came to live with them after CPS took them out of their mother’s home. She called Smith a loving dad, but also said he didn’t spend a lot of time with Larkin and his younger brother.
She admitted Larkin complained about Seals teenager hurting him, so Seals told her son to stop disciplining the younger boys. Seals admitted to noticing several bruises on Larkin, but didn’t know where they came from. When she questioned her teenager, she said he denied hurting Larkin.
She claims she assumed the bruises came from the two younger boys fighting. Seals said it became a challenge to watch them and they would fight with each other. She mentioned that the brothers were too much together, and would do better separated.
Seals said Larkin had stomach pain and became extremely sick the weekend before he died, but Seals thought he had a stomach bug. She said she regrets not taking him to the hospital.
The defense plans to call their first witness on Thursday. This trial is expected to finish by Friday.
In 2019, Catherine Seals plead guilty to felony homicide and child abuse/neglect in Larkin’s death. Officials plan to sentence her on December 10.
The teen faces second-degree murder charges. His trial is expected to start on February 1st.