Defence makes closing arguments in trial over boy’s death from meningitis

By Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – A lengthy final argument by the defence lawyer for a couple charged in the death of their toddler portrayed them Friday as loving caregivers who didn’t realize the boy was seriously ill.

“I’m going to suggest to you that you will likely conclude that David and Collet Stephan were attentive parents,” said Shawn Buckley, who spent four hours reviewing the case for the eight-woman, four-man jury in a Lethbridge, Alta., courtroom.

The couple is charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life.

Ezekiel Stephan was nearly 19 months old when he died in March 2012. A pathologist testified the cause of death was bacterial meningitis and a lung infection.

His 32-year-old father, who works for a nutritional supplements company out of Raymond, Alta., and 35-year-old mother didn’t seek medical attention until he stopped breathing, when they called 911. He died a couple of days after being taken to hospital.

The couple believed that Ezekiel, who had been sick for weeks, had croup and the flu, and treated him with natural remedies containing ingredients such as hot peppers, garlic, onion and horseradish.

Buckley described the Stephans as “very loving and concerned about their kids’ health. Is it really likely if they were seeing any symptoms that would say `go see a doctor’ that they wouldn’t?”

Buckley said the jury has to decide if the Stephans’ actions were a marked departure from what a reasonable and prudent parent would do.

“Did they seek medical attention and did they seek it soon enough?” he asked. “There’s the issue if seeking medical attention could, not would, have made a difference in Ezekiel’s survival.”

Buckley told the jury not a single witness who had seen Ezekiel prior to the 911 call thought he was in need of medical attention.

A friend of the Stephans, who is a registered nurse, testified during the trial that she told the mother the boy might have viral meningitis and advised he be taken to a doctor.

Buckley said Collet Stephan would have taken Ezekiel to a doctor if there had been any “red alert” emergency.

“A doctor’s not always called when a child has a typical illness,” said Buckley, noting that a number of witnesses indicated detecting bacterial meningitis can be a “tricky thing.”

Buckley also pointed to the testimony of Alberta’s former chief medical officer who disputed the cause of death.

Dr. Anny Sauvageau told court she believed the toddler died of viral meningitis — not the bacterial form — and that he might have lived had the ambulance to nearby Cardston been better equipped to treat a child his age with breathing difficulties.

“Ezekiel did not have an airway for a full eight minutes and 11 seconds,” said Buckley.

Court documents already entered in the trial say just days before Ezekiel was rushed to hospital his family was giving him fluids through an eyedropper because he wouldn’t eat or drink.

The jury has also heard that Collet Stephan researched treatments for viral meningitis online and the next day picked up an echinacea mixture from a naturopath in Lethbridge. Court was told Ezekiel was too stiff to sit in his car seat and had to lie on a mattress as they drove to the naturopath’s office the day before he stopped breathing.

The prosecution is to deliver its final argument on Saturday and the case is expected to go to the jury early next week.

The maximum penalty for failing to provide the necessaries of life is five years in prison.

— Follow @BillGraveland on Twitter

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