Trial set for mom in son’s death

A two-week judge and jury trial has been set for late next year for a Calgary mother facing two charges in the death of her 7-year-old son two years ago.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Earl Wilson on Friday set the date for the trial for Tamara Lovett, 45, to start on Nov. 28, 2016.

Lovett, who was accompanied by lawyer Alain Hepner, was ordered to stand trial on Jan. 30 following a five-day preliminary hearing at provincial court.

Lovett will face trial on charges of failing to provide the necessities of life and criminal negligence causing the death of Ryan Alexander Lovett. He died in March 2013 after contracting a strep infection that kept him bedridden for 10 days.

An autopsy revealed the boy died as a result of a Group A streptococcus infection.

Police have said the woman called for help from her suite in the 900 block of 17th Avenue S.W. early on March 2, 2013, fearing the young boy was suffering a seizure. The child was later pronounced dead in hospital.

They have alleged the mother chose to treat the bacterial infection with homeopathic herbal remedies instead of taking him to a doctor. Police say there is no record of the boy ever being taken to the doctor for annual checkups or any treatment and the decision not to do so likely killed the child.

Police say the woman’s friends were worried about the ailing child’s health and urged her to take him to the doctor.