Man convicted in son’s death to cover trial
Stephan vows to ensure couple charged in negligence case won’t face same fate
David Stephan, the Alberta father who made national headlines after a 2016 conviction in his son’s meningitis death, will be in a city courtroom for the next three weeks, vowing to ensure the trial of Calgary parents accused of negligence in their toddler’s death is covered fairly.
Packing a tripod-mounted iPhone with an attached mic, along with a notepad covered with neatly scrawled writing, the former Lethbridge resident sat in a Calgary courtroom Monday, where the Crown made opening statements in the trial of Jennifer and Jeromie Clark, who are charged with criminal negligence and failing to provide the necessaries of life for their 14-month-old son John, who died in 2013 of a staph infection and malnutrition.
Stephan, along with his wife Collet, are awaiting a new trial for the 2012 death of their 19-month-old son Ezekiel after Canada’s Supreme Court ordered a retrial in May. The nation’s highest court ruled the trial judge did not properly instruct jurors on what would be a marked departure from reasonable behaviour “in a way that the jury could understand.”
The couple’s lawyers argued contrary evidence from medical experts led the trial judge to issue a misleading charge and did not “give the jury the tools that they needed” to properly decide the case.
In a pair of Facebook videologs posted Sunday and Monday, Stephan — who has steadfastly blamed medical responders, the justice system and the media for unjustly criticizing him for his son’s death — said his aim is to ensure the Clarks don’t face the same fate as he and his wife.
“I’ll be asking some pointed questions; I’ll be interviewing the media on this — the reporters,” he said in a video posted Sunday. “When they get out of line, I’ll be asking about how they came to the various conclusions that they did in the same courtroom that I spent time in.”
The Stephans were convicted in 2016 after jurors heard the couple treated Ezekiel with natural remedies including hot peppers, garlic, onions and horseradish for weeks, before he died in a Calgary hospital in March of 2012.
David was sentenced to four months in jail while Collet was handed three months house arrest, but both have been free during the appeals process.
In a video posted Monday outside the Calgary Courts Centre, Stephan highlighted the similarities between his case and that of the Clarks, and warned that they will be attacked for their choices of medical care, diet and religion.
“The precedent is going to be further established that it doesn’t matter whether or not you love your children, it’s whether or not you treat them the way they deem is necessary and fit,” he said.