“It was like a bomb dropped on the family” – Anthony Stephan testifies at case management hearing

The elder Stephan testified he and his second wife were originally at Cardston’s Hospital awaiting the arrival of David and Collet, but sometime early Wednesday morning, the elder couple made their way to Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary.

There, he described how he, as a grandfather was in “a terrible place.” He said many family members had gathered at the hospital to support David and Collet, and that the couple appeared sleep deprived, and “extremely stressed.”

He told the court “you don’t forget the feelings; they are impressed on your soul never to be forgotten.”

However, when asked, he admitted the timeline of events was “fuzzy” when he first saw police at the hospital, when he met with members of the RCMP or Calgary Police, which day he was involved in a terse exchanged with social workers at the hospital or if David and Collet met with social workers.

When questioned by his son, he also admitted he did not recall any specific concern David and Collet expressed about the presence of police or social workers at the hospital.

The elder Stephan added that while he and the rest of the family were in the hospital, he did speak assertively with a male and female social worker, and told them they needed to “hold off” asking David and Collet questions for a “couple of weeks,” until they were in a position to meet with them.

Under cross-examination by the Crown, the elder Stephan admitted he was not party to meetings with doctors and others who had interviewed his son and daughter-in-law.

Voluntariness Ruling

The admissibility of police interviews with both David and Collet, and Collet’s interview with Dr. D’Mello, a child abuse consultant and pediatrician, are the subject of contention by the Stephans, who have submitted a “Fruits of the Poisonous Tree” application.

That means, through the application, the Stephans contend some of the testimony, or the interviews they previously gave, were illegally obtained directly or indirectly through unconstitutional police conduct.

The Crown however, contends that no threats or promises were made by police or Dr. D’Mello, there was no trickery by police, that the couple was never held against their will, denied food, water or washroom breaks, and because the couple had not been charged with anything, police did not need to tell them their statements could be used against them in the future.

The Crown prosecutor told Justice J.D. Rooke that although both David and Collet were stressed out and dealing with threats to Ezekiel’s health, it was not a circumstance police are, or were responsible for.

“They knew they were speaking to police,” the Crown argued, and added that during his police interview, David was aware of and acknowledged the risk.

The Crown also argued that there was nothing oppressive in the mannerisms of staff or police at the hospital, that the couple was free to come and go, and that they made their own choices. Simply the presence of uniformed officers “can not be seen as oppressive,” the court was told.

Along with the aforementioned application, the couple has submitted a Jordan application regarding unreasonable delays in the court process. They will have a chance to reply to the Crown’s arguments regarding voluntariness on Wednesday.

Justice Rooke also told the court that the “Fruits of the Poisonous Tree” and the Jordan applications would also be dealt with the same day.

The case management hearing is expected to continue until at least Thursday, March 7.

by Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

“It was like a bomb dropped on the family” – Anthony Stephan testifies at case management hearing

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