Former Strathroy couple pleads not guilty during second trial for scalding death of a toddler

A former Strathroy couple charged with the scalding death of a 20-month-old toddler plead not guilty to a joint charge of criminal negligence causing death Monday morning, in a case that was brought before the courts for a second time.

30-year-old Amanda Dumont and 27-year-old Scott Bakker also plead not guilty to separate charges of failing to provide the necessaries of life, after Ryker Daponte-Michaud died from dehydration and shock on May 21, 2014. Days before, the toddler had been badly burned by a cup of scalding hot coffee.

Nearly six months ago the first trial was called off after Dumont — the child’s mother — became sick with appendicitis. She had surgery, but was unable to participate. The case was declared a mistrial.

READ MORE: Judge will retry Baby Ryker death case without jury

Two witnesses were called to the stand Monday. OPP Constable Mark Johnson went through photos of 355 Penny Lane in Strathroy, the residence where Ryker died with third-degree burns on his waist, legs, back, genitals, and buttocks. Johnson was questioned by Dumont’s lawyer, Ken Marley, for not conducting finger print testing on a coffee mug and a container of instant coffee found in a downstairs bedroom of the home.

Marley also wondered why there hadn’t been any analysis on swabs of Ryker’s skin, which could have shown whether aloe vera and polysporin products found around the house had been used on the toddler.

During further cross examination, Bakker’s lawyer, Gord Cudmore, pointed out there was no evidence that Bakker was living at the home: no men’s toiletries in the bathroom, no men’s clothing, and just a single toothbrush in a main floor bathroom.

READ MORE: New trial begins Monday for Strathroy couple charged in toddler’s death

Ontario Works family support worker, Robert Brooks, was the second witness called to the stand during Monday’s hearing. Dumont had been referred to Brooks through a caseworker, and he’d met her for the first time the day before Ryker died when he showed up unannounced at the home on Penny Lane.

When Brooks arrived, he said Dumont was standing just outside her front door. They’d made eye contact, before she disappeared into the home. When she returned less than a minute later she closed the front door, which had stood open earlier. Brooks asked Dumont to sign documents while standing on front step, and noted she was visibily anxious and upset. Dumont told him it was because her dog had been stolen, and the tires of her car had been slashed overnight.

A man had been working on a vehicle in the driveway when Brooks arrived in the afternoon; Brooks told the courthouse Dumont identified him as her brother, and doubled-down when Marley pressed whether she said it was father’s brother, not her own.

Five to six weeks has been set aside for the trial this time around, which will be heard by judge alone. A few days after a mistrial was declared back in December 2016, one of the jurors died by suicide.

A new witness will be called to the stand for cross-examination at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.