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Although both adults participated, Michelle's daughter said it was Christian Gauvin's idea to tie up Aiyana as a form of punishment when the 4-year-old "was mouthing off or doing things in her diaper." Gauvin, 35, is being tried before a LaPorte County jury of six men and eight women, among them two alternates, this week on a single count of Class A felony neglect of a dependent. Last week, Michelle Gauvin was sentenced to life in prison without parole after she pleaded guilty in Aiyana's murder. "At the beginning, she cried," Michelle's daughter testified about Aiyana's reaction when being tied up. "Toward the end, she didn't cry anymore. She just sat there." Her mother and stepfather would also remove Aiyana's bedding and make her sleep in a 4-by-4 plastic pan when she acted up, the girl added. Christian Gauvin's trial, which was held Wednesday in Tippecanoe County to accommodate local witnesses, will resume this morning in LaPorte Circuit Court. It could conclude by this evening. Key questions for the jurors will be how much Christian Gauvin was aware of the torture that Aiyana suffered, how much he participated in it and why he failed to stop it. His attorney, special public defender Patrick Manahan, is arguing that Aiyana and her stepmother clashed in the days just before her death. The Tippecanoe County prosecution team of Jerry Bean and Laura Zeman contend that she'd been tortured for days, if not months, before her death. Michelle's daughter said she first remembers seeing unusual bruises on Aiyana in September 2004. The blended family used to get along when Christian and Aiyana first moved into Michelle's home that February, she said. Dr. Paul Mellen, the forensic pathologist who did Aiyana's autopsy, said Aiyana had a severe mix of overlapping bruises in various shades, meaning she likely had been beaten over an extended period of time. But bruises can only be classified as having occurred in less than 24 hours or older than a day, he said. The defense called four witnesses Wednesday, including Aiyana's Court Appointed Special Advocate during her Child in Need of Services case and the man assigned her case at the former Child Protective Services. Both were on the treatment team that recommended that Aiyana be permanently placed with Christian Gauvin. Karla Ross, Aiyana's CASA, said Aiyana and Christian always appeared to get along during her interactions with them. She recalled looking at pictures Aiyana had shot with Christian's camera when the girl was 2 years old. "He took real pride in it," Ross said, "because he thought she had real potential as a photographer."
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