The Alberta couple who won an appeal of their conviction in the death of their toddler son with the Supreme Court of Canada say they don’t have the money to pay a lawyer to defend them in their new trial.
David and Collet Stephan were convicted of failing to provide the necessaries of life to their 19-month-old son Ezekiel in 2016.
The boy died of bacterial meningitis at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in 2012.
The court during the original trial heard that the couple treated the young boy with natural remedies that included onion and horseradish.
The Stephans won their right to a new trial in May, but now say that they were rejected by the legal aid office and cannot come up with the funds to pay a lawyer.
The court has suggested that they apply for court-appointed counsel.
They are expected to appear in the Court of Queen’s Bench in Lethbridge on June 3, 2019.
