Couple’s son ‘was withering’

Trial begins for Calgary couple charged in 2013 death

CALGARY — A jury trial for a Calgary couple charged in the death of their 14-monthold son heard the boy was on the verge of death when he was taken to hospital five years ago — the first time he had ever seen a doctor.

Jeromie and Jennifer Clark pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence causing death and failure to provide the necessities of life for their son, John.

Jennifer Clark wore a hat which covered part of her face and was barely audible as she stated her plea.

She and her husband clasped hands as they stood in the prisoner’s dock.

Police began investigating after the boy was brought to hospital by his parents on Nov. 28, 2013.

“John was on death’s doorstep. This was the first time John had seen a doctor in his 14 months on this earth,” prosecutor Shane Parker told the jury in his opening statement Monday.

Court heard the child was in septic shock with a staph infection and his organs were shutting down.

He had a rash covering 70% of his body, which Parker said his parents thought was eczema but was actually caused by malnutrition.

Four of John’s toes were blue-black, he said.

Parker said the child did not have a fever. It was more serious — his temperature was abnormally low.

“John was in obvious medical distress. He was withering,” he said.

The prosecutor said John was born at home, had never been vaccinated and hadn’t been fed properly.

He said an autopsy showed his major organs weighed less than those of babies half his age.

“His immune system was so compromised from a lack of vitamins and minerals,” Parker said. “John was too small and too weak to fight.”

The infection should have been treatable, Parker said.

“At any point in time, the parents could have stopped the dominoes.”

Myla Maillous-Gosselin, a triage nurse at Foothills Medical Centre the afternoon John was taken there, said she was alarmed by the colour of the baby’s toes.

“I wanted a physician to see him immediately.”

Paramedic Jessica Kerr testified that when she arrived to take John by ambulance from Foothills to the Alberta Children’s Hospital, her initial observation was “that he was a very sick little boy.”

The trial continues