LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — The defence is to call its first witness today at the trial of a former Alberta couple charged in the death of their toddler son from bacterial meningitis.
The toddler's parents, David and Collet Stephan, formerly of Glenwood, Alta., are charged with failing to provide the necessities of life for their son Ezekiel.
Defence lawyer Shawn Buckley has already told the jury that evidence will show the almost 19-month-old boy appeared to get better at times — right up until the night he stopped breathing and had to be rushed to hospital in March 2012.
The trial in Lethbridge has heard that the boy had been sick for about 2 1/2 weeks, and his parents gave him natural remedies and homemade smoothies containing hot pepper, ginger root, horseradish and onion.
After being taken to a local facility, Ezekiel was rushed to a Calgary hospital, where he died a week later from bacterial meningitis and a lung infection.
The Crown contends the couple didn't do enough to ensure the toddler had proper access to medical care before he became seriously ill.
In earlier testimony, a pediatrician said Ezekiel had less than a one per cent chance of surviving by the time he was taken to hospital.
Dr. Shauna Burkholder, who works at Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary, said medical staff at the smaller hospital near the Stephan home had been able to revive Ezekiel, but the boy was probably already brain dead at that point.
The jury has also heard that a friend who was a nurse told the Stephans that their boy might have viral meningitis and advised them to take him to a doctor.
