By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Crown Outlines Case in Closing Arguments of Stephan Trial

Apr 23, 2016 | 3:14 PM

LETHBRIDGE – “What does a reasonably prudent parent do?”

Crown Prosecutor Lisa Weich posed the question to the jury numerous times, as she delivered her closing arguments in the trial of David and Collet Stephan Saturday morning.

She stated that there was no question the couple loved their son Ezekiel, who died in March of 2012 at 18-months of age. Instead she said it came down to whether or not they failed to get him the medical attention he needed.

Weich started by discussing the research Collet did into meningitis, after her friend who is a registered nurse and midwife, suggested it as a possibility the day before Ezekiel stopped breathing. After acknowledging testimony from Collet, in which she said she couldn’t remember what came from her search on WebMD, Weich went over information from the website. She stated that meningitis is inflammation of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord, and asked what a reasonably prudent parent would do after reading that, before stating, “They take the child to a doctor.”

She continued reviewing the information, saying while viral meningitis is less likely to cause permanent harm or death than bacterial meningitis, you should still go to emergency for either case.

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Testimony from Collet’s midwife and an employee at the Lethbridge Naturopathic Medical Clinic then came up, as Weich noted that both said they told Collet to take Ezekiel to a doctor, or at the very least asked if she had already done so.

The timeline of the night Ezekiel stopped breathing was then explored. On the night of March 13, 2012, the Stephans called 911 after the child’s breathing stopped, but decided to drive him to the hospital themselves when it started again. They placed another call to 911 just after getting on the road, when Ezekiel stopped breathing for a second time. Weich pointed out that there was at least 20 minutes between calls, adding, “The reasonably prudent parent gets out the door immediately.”

The credibility of the Stephans was another major part of the closing arguments. In statements given to doctors, the police and social services workers, neither parent talked about meaningful improvements in Ezekiel’s condition between February 27 and March 13. On the stand at trial however, they testified that Ezekiel showed significant improvement several times throughout his illness, leading them to believe he was getting better.

Weich compared what they said in 2012 to what they said last week, saying, “Ezekiel’s life was hanging in the balance. Ask yourselves what their interests are today.”

Weich proceeded to focus on the testimony of Doctor Shauna Burkholder, the pediatric specialist who saw Ezekiel the night he was admitted to the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. Burkholder had explained that when she first saw Ezekiel’s CT scan, it was “devastating” as there was so much swelling around his brain it was pushing down on his brain stem. She concluded that it stopped his breathing, which then stopped his heart.

It was then that Weich began to tear up, reminding the jury of Burkholder’s statement that Ezekiel was likely dead by the time he arrived at the ambulance.

She also went over the timeline provided by the Stephans, from the first day they noticed Ezekiel was sick on February 27 to the day he stopped breathing on March 13. They acknowledged that he was sick on five of those days, with David saying he was in “recovery mode” for another eight. Weich explained that meant Ezekiel’s condition had been fluctuating for 13 of the 16 days in question.

“They failed in their duty to provide medical attention,” Weich told the jury. “A reasonably prudent parent would have taken him to a doctor.

“They should not have walked to the hospital, they should have run.”

The jury will return to court Monday, at which time they will be given instructions by Justice Rodney Jerke and begin deliberations.