Appeal Court rejects stay for Alberta couple facing third trial in son's death
The Court of Appeal of Alberta has rejected a request that a third trial be stayed for a couple accused in their son's death.
Lawyers for David and Collet Stephan had requested proceedings be put on hold while they seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada a decision ordering another trial.
“That stay application was heard recently and it was dismissed,” Collet Stephan's lawyer, Jason Demers, told a Lethbridge, Alta., court on Monday.
“But leave was granted to reapply pending the results of our leave application that we filed with the Supreme Court on April 30.”
Demers said the Supreme Court received the couple's leave request earlier this month, but he's not expecting the high court to decide whether it will hear the application until August or September.
The Stephans were accused in their earlier trials of not seeking medical attention sooner. They testified that they were treating their 18-month-old son, Ezekiel, with natural remedies before he died in 2012 for what they thought was croup.
Demers said it's likely the third trial would take eight weeks to complete.
The Crown indicated it was interested in setting a new trial date as soon as possible, but the defence objected to that.
“The two trials were similar but the witness list was quite different. I don't know what the third trial is going to look like. I need witness lists. I need to know what the issues are,” said lawyer Shawn Buckley, who was representing David Stephan.
The Stephans have requested that a case management judge be appointed to guide the matter until a trial is held.
The case is to be back in court June 28.
The Stephans appeared via video on Monday.
In a text to The Canadian Press, David Stephan expressed his disappointment with the Appeal Court ruling.
“We will now have to prepare for both Supreme Court and a third trial at the same time,” he wrote.
A jury first convicted the couple in 2016 of failing to provide the necessaries of life. But the Supreme Court overturned that verdict and ordered a second trial. A judge hearing the case without a jury found them not guilty in 2019.
Earlier this year, the Alberta Court of Appeal granted a request by the Crown to overturn the acquittal and ordered another trial.
The Stephans have testified that they thought Ezekiel had croup, an upper airway infection, and treated him with natural remedies, including smoothies with tinctures of garlic, onion and horseradish.
They said he appeared to be recovering at times and they saw no reason to take him to hospital, despite his having a fever and lacking energy. They called an ambulance when the boy stopped breathing.
In acquitting them at their second trial, Justice Terry Clackson accepted the testimony of a defence expert, who said the boy died of a lack of oxygen, not bacterial meningitis as reported by Dr. Bamidele Adeagbo, the original medical examiner.
Clackson noted in his decision that Adeagbo, who was born in Nigeria, spoke with an accent and was difficult to understand and called him out for his “body language and physical antics.”
In ordering a third trial, the Appeal Court judges said the medical examiner's speech and body language were irrelevant, and the judge's comments gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2021
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Prince William and wife Kate thank public for birthday messages for son Louis
Prince William and his wife Kate thanked the public for their messages which had been sent to mark the sixth birthday of their youngest son Louis on Tuesday.
She was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father. Then life dealt her a blow
Anne Marie Cavner was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father, but then life dealt her a blow. From an unexpected loss to a host of new relationships, a DNA test changed her life, and she doesn't regret a thing.
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
'Catch-and-kill' strategy to be a focus as testimony resumes in Trump hush money case
A veteran tabloid publisher was expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial.
Quebec farmers have been protesting since December. Is anyone listening?
Upset about high interest rates, growing paperwork and heavy regulatory burdens, protesting farmers have become a familiar sight across Quebec since December.
South Korean sentenced to 14 months in jail for killing 76 cats
South Korean man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for killing 76 cats in one of the country's most gruesome cases of animal cruelty in recent years.