Forensic pathologist from Stephans trial sentenced in Indiana DUI case

Dr. Bamidele Adeagbo gave expert medical testimony at the first two trials of David and Collet Stephan. He pleaded guilty in mid-December to operating a vehicle while intoxicated in Indiana. (file)

A forensic pathologist who became a source of interest at the controversial 2021 trial of David and Collet Stephan in 2021 pleaded guilty recently on a misdemeanor charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated in Indiana.

Dr. Bamidele Adeagbo was arrested in 2020 for driving under the influence, after an incident in which he rear-ended a second vehicle.

On Dec.16, a judge sentenced Adeagbo to one year in prison with two days credit, then suspended the sentence to 363 days of informal probation.

Adeagbo will also have to do 120 hours of community service and attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) victim impact panel.

Adeagbo served as a Crown witness for two trials for the Stephans, who were accused of failing to provide the necessities of life in the death of their child in 2012.

That led to a complaint over the comments made by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Terry Clackson, who wrote that Adeagbo's ability to articulate his thoughts in an understandable fashion was severely compromised by his garbled enunciation, leading to complaints of perceived racism.

Adeagbo is a forensic pathologist for Vigo County, Indiana.  The county coroner told WTHI-10's Annie Johnston that Adeagbo will continue to work for the county because she believes his arrest doesn't impact his work.

The Stephans were found not guilty in 2019 in a second trial. In March 2021, the Alberta Court of Appeals granted a request by the Crown to overturn the acquittal and ordered a third trial.

David Stephan and his wife Collet Stephan arrive at court in Lethbridge, Alta. on March 10, 2016. (David Rossiter / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Prosecutors ultimately stayed the charges against the Stephans in June 2021, with Sarah Langley, the chief prosecutor in the appeals and specialized prosecutions office with the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, explaining that deteriorating evidence "meant a reasonable likelihood of conviction no longer exists."

In August, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected an appeal to hear the case a third time.

With files from The Canadian Press