Parents who neglected adult son still don't have sentencing date

The Calgary parents whose neglect of their adult son left him in critical condition weighing just 43 pounds, still don't know when they'll face a sentencing hearing.

Lawyers for Melinda Phillips and Jonathon Grunewald appeared in Court of Queen's Bench on Friday, but could not schedule a date before Justice Keith Yamauchi.

Defence counsel Rebecca Snukal, who acts for Phillips, said she had been in contact with Yamauchi's office to try to find a half-day available for a sentencing hearing, but did not receive one.

The criminal trial co-ordinator also told court she had not received dates from the judge's office.

Snukal asked that the case be adjourned to criminal appearance court next Friday, but Crown prosecutor Shane Parker suggested a two-week delay, as Yamauchi is scheduled to preside over the docket court on May 27.

Both Phillips and Grunewald remain at liberty after pleading guilty in January to charges of failing to provide the necessities of life for their disabled, 27-yearold son.

Court heard at that time Phillips distrusted the medical system and she and Grunewald didn't seek help until Oct. 24, 2020, when their victim was hospitalized in critical condition.

File prosecutor Janice Walsh told court that at the time of his hospital admission the son was suffering from hypothermia, with a body temperature of 27.2 C (nearly 10 C below normal), sepsis, severe malnutrition and dehydration and acute liver failure.

“(The son) was admitted in critical condition in a state of shock ... weighing only 43 pounds,” Walsh told Yamauchi following the Jan. 21 pleas.

A sentencing date was initially to be set April 8, but because Grunewald's lawyer, Michael Bates, hadn't received a pre-sentence report on his client it was delayed.

Snukal told the court that the report is now completed and they can proceed to a sentencing hearing.

Neither offender was in court Friday.