LETHBRIDGE — It was another emotionally charged day in court as Collet Stephan took to the stand to be cross-examined by Crown prosecutor Clayton Giles, showing frustration at some of his questions.
There was an unexpected delay in her testimony; the courthouse was evacuated after the fire alarm went off. The building was cleared and everyone was allowed back in within half an hour.
When court resumed, Collet testified that even though the report done by social workers and the RCMP in March 2012 states she did two tests to check for meningitis – known as the Kernig and Brudzinski tests – she does not have a memory of performing them on Ezekiel.
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When the Crown asked if her memory would have been more fresh then than it is now, she said it would be more fresh, but not clear.
“My state of mind was a lot different then than it is today,” Stephan said. “I was in a traumatic state and sleep deprived.”
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The 35-year-old mother could not recall portions of her conversation with doctors, social workers and RCMP at the Alberta Children’s Hospital at the time her son was sick.
Giles asked her why in the reports they stated Ezekiel was not taking fluids easily, yet Thursday she testified she only gave fluids through an eye dropper as a precaution.
“We are being told our son’s heart could stop any minute,” Stephan said. “Your thought process comes in and out.”
She also disputed the comments in reports and interviews that Ezekiel was too stiff to sit in a car seat. She said it was more achiness and tension.
READ MORE: ‘Very sick little boy’: Pediatrician testifies in case of Alberta boy’s meningitis death
Giles again asked if her memory would have been more fresh then than it would be four years later.
“More fresh yes, not necessarily more clear,” Stephan said.
Collet and her husband David, 32, are charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life.
The couple’s trial will continue next week.
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