A jury trial will begin on Friday in Lethbridge for a mother and father who are accused of letting their infant son die of a deadly infection.
David and Collet Stephan, who lived in Glenwood at the time, were charged in connection with the death of their son Ezekiel, who died in March 2012.
The pair are facing charges of failing to provide the necessaries of life for their son.
The 19-month-old contracted a lung infection, and that soon developed into meningitis, leading to the baby’s death.
The Stephans say that Ezekiel contracted what they believed was croup and it seemed like he was improving for a number of days before his health took a sudden turn.
The couple was charged a year later, following a lengthy police investigation into the incident.
Their legal counsel has been fighting the charges for quite some time, and the couple said in 2014 that the legal costs were bankrupting their family.
Now, they say that the timing of the trial is even harder for them, because it comes in line with the fourth anniversary of their son’s death.
“Well, the main focus when we think of Ezekiel is ‘court’, reliving that tragic week that led up to his passing,” David Stephan said on Monday.
The Crown intends to call 17 witnesses during the trial, with eight of them being doctors.
The trial is expected to last about four weeks.
Further details into the case are protected by a publication ban.
