TEEN ‘LIVED AND DIED ALONE’
Calgary parents Emil and Rodica Radita were convicted of first-degree murder in the death of their 15-year-old son, Alexandru, above, a judge ruled on Friday.
Alexandru Radita “lived and died very much alone,” a prosecutor noted Friday, moments after his parents were sentenced to life in prison for his murder.
Crown lawyer Susan Pepper said the fact there was no one in court to speak about the impact of the teenager’s death, save for a social worker who dealt with him eight years earlier, spoke volumes about his loneliness.
“It really highlights the degree of isolation that Alex lived in — he had no friends, or teachers, or support people, or doctors, or anyone,” Pepper said, after Emil and Rodica Radita were each convicted of first-degree murder in the boy’s death.
Justice Karen Horner accepted Pepper’s argument the parents intentionally neglected the 15-yearold for years, until he finally succumbed to bacterial sepsis related to starvation.
“Your actions in starving your son Alex to death are beyond comprehension,” Horner said, in ordering the couple to each serve a minimum 25 years without parole.
Emil, 60, and Rodica, 54, showed no outward emotion as Horner found they had effectively planned and deliberated their son’s death on May 7, 2013 by failing to get him life-saving medical attention.
Horner also said the boy was intentionally confined by his parents through his isolation, which would also make them guilty of first-degree murder.
“You persisted in ongoing conduct,” Horner said. “You persisted until he was dead.”
Defence lawyers Jim Lutz and Andrea Serink had sought convictions for manslaughter, arguing the parents incompetently managed their son’s diabetes and were unable to ascertain the significant risk his illness caused him.
But Horner said the parents’ conduct amounted to much more.
“The Raditas were well aware how ill Alex was and still refused to treat his medical condition with proper insulin protocol and medical care,” she said. “They knew he was dying.”
The couple were aware death would be the ultimate consequence of their refusal to get him proper medical care.
“Alex’s extremely emaciated state was clearly, common sensibly, the result of a prolonged period of malnutrition,” Horner said.
The boy weighed only 37 pounds and was “emaciated to the point where he appeared mummified” when found dead.
She described the scene which greeted paramedic Deborah Baumback when she arrived at the Raditas’ Citadel home.
“His face had no visible flesh left as she could see every bone in his face,” the judge said. “There was nothing left of his stomach as he was just so skinny.”
Outside court, Patricia MacDonald, who was Alex’s social worker when the family lived in B.C. and was the lone voice at court to speak for him, said she was pleased with the outcome.
“I think that it really is justice for Alex,” MacDonald said. “He went through a horrendous, horrible ending to his life and I’m glad to see his parents being held accountable.”
Because the Raditas’ sentence was automatic and MacDonald hadn’t dealt with the boy for such a long time, Horner declined to hear her victim impact statement.
“I wanted to say that Alex was a very brave and a very smart little man and … for his life to have had meaning he would’ve wanted for it to have brought about change for other children,” MacDonald said.
Defence lawyers offered no comment following the ruling.