Disturbing details emerged Tuesday in the trial for a Calgary mother accused in the death of her developmentally disabled daughter.
Patricia Couture, 70, is charged with criminal negligence causing death.
Her 38-year-old daughter, Melissa, was found dead in their southwest Calgary home on April 26, 2016.
According to an agreed statement of facts read in court Tuesday morning, Melissa functioned at the level of a three- or four-year-old child.
She suffered from hearing loss, visual impairment, stiffness in her extremities and in the final years of her life, she was immobile. Medical records indicated she had cerebral palsy.
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Court heard Patricia had called 911 in the middle of the night.
First responders testified Melissa was already dead when they arrived.
Primary care paramedic Jill MacEachern said there was a pungent smell in the home.
“It was a combination of feces, urine and decay,” MacEachern testified.
Melissa was found lying face-up on a couch wearing a pyjama top and an adult diaper; nearby there was a mattress on the living room floor where Patricia said she would stay to be with her daughter.
“She was very, very frail to where I would classify her as emaciated,” MacEachern said.
The paramedic described the accused as “very scatterbrained” that night and said “she didn’t seem to be able to keep a single thought or finish a sentence.”
A later examination by an expert dentist revealed a “complete breakdown of her oral complex, including broken and decayed teeth, irritation and erosion of the gums and cyst formations in the bone…some teeth were decayed to the gum line.”
Dr. J.W. Blair advised police Melissa’s teeth had not been brushed in “a long time.”
It is alleged Melissa did not receive the medical attention she needed while under the care of her mother.
Calgary police investigators were unable to find any record of Melissa receiving medical attention after July 2012.
At that time, she was having difficulty swallowing. She was losing weight and had dropped to 44 kg (97 lbs).
An expert in gastroenterology and nutrition testified Tuesday afternoon.
Dr. Maitreyi Raman said Melissa was malnourished when she died, weighing just 23 kg (50 lbs).
She completed a report based on Melissa’s medical history and said there were a lot of unanswered questions, as it had been four years since she had seen a doctor.
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Dr. Raman said in her opinion, Melissa wasn’t provided with adequate care for at least one year prior to her death.
She went on to say her starvation could have been preventable had there been medical intervention.
Court heard various bottles of opened and unopened medicine — both prescribed and herbal — were found inside of the home.
Couture was originally charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life — which carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail.
The maximum penalty for criminal negligence causing death is life in prison.
On Wednesday morning, the trial will continue with testimony from an expert doctor in the field of diagnosis and treatment of pressure ulcers.
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