EDMONTON – The Children’s Services caseworker who handled Jason Cardinal’s file told a fatality inquiry he was shocked when he learned of the murder of Caleb, 6, and Gabriel, 3.
Todd Weekes said he has repeatedly asked himself if he should have done anything differently.
“I went through that in my mind for days after it happened,” said Weekes. “There was nothing I could think of that was missed.”
Children’s Services apprehended Caleb and Gabriel after concerns with Cardinal’s mental health and other issues.
Weekes testified he believed Cardinal, the boys’ father, was managing his mental health problems appropriately and he showed a commitment to improving.
A judge had ordered Cardinal receive access to the boys but left it up to Children’s Services to decide whether those visits were supervised or unsupervised.
Weekes said doctors’ reports and information from support workers that spent a lot of time with Cardinal suggested the father was of little risk to the children.
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Unsupervised visits followed. But two weeks after a court hearing in early December 2010, in which Cardinal did not receive custody, the father murdered Caleb and Gabriel and then tried to kill himself.
READ MORE: Fatality inquiry begins into double murder of 2 boys by father
It all happened during an unsupervised visit. Cardinal injected both boys with morphine. He then strangled the boys and cut his own wrists. The three were found lying on Cardinal’s bed.
In 2012, Cardinal pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and is currently serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Caleb and Gabriel’s mother disputes Weekes’ assertion that the violence could not have been predicted.
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Andrea Badger’s lawyer pointed out an e-mail to Weekes from Badger that questioned how safe Cardinal was if he was not taking his medication.
Weekes said he likely spoke to Badger about the email but he did not show it to his supervisor or include the information in court files.
Badger’s lawyers also noted documents that suggested Cardinal needed a family doctor and a psychiatrist to help him manage his medication.
Cardinal had neither. In fact, his former family doctor wrote a letter to Children’s Services describing Cardinal as a “potentially very dangerous man.”
READ MORE: Edmonton man who killed his kids cited with contempt
The fatality hearing is intended to find ways to prevent similar tragedies from happening, but there is an underlying issue. Badger is suing the province for a little more than $1 million. She claims Children’s Services contributed to the deaths of her kids by allowing unsupervised visits.
The fatality hearing is scheduled to conclude on Friday.
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