LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – The prosecution will get one final opportunity today to convince an Alberta jury that David and Collet Stephan failed their son by not getting him medical assistance before the toddler died of bacterial meningitis.
The couple is charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life for nearly 19-month-old Ezekiel in 2012.
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David Stephan, a 32-year-old who works for a nutritional supplements company in Raymond, Alta., and Collet Stephan, 35, believed that Ezekiel was simply suffering from croup.
As a result, they treated him with natural remedies containing hot peppers, garlic, onions and horseradish over a 2 1/2-week period before he stopped breathing and was rushed to hospital.
He died a couple of days later.
In his closing arguments Friday, defence lawyer Shawn Buckley painted the Stephans as loving and attentive parents who didn’t realize the boy was seriously ill.