Co- Crown prosecutor Lisa Weich gave closing remarks on Saturday to the eight women and four men who will decide David and Collet Stephans’ fate.
David Stephan, 32, and his wife Collet Stephan, 35, have pleaded not guilty to failing to provide the necessities of life for 18-month-old Ezekiel, who died in March 2012. Doctors told the boy’s parents he died of meningitis.
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“This trial is not about murder, the Crown does not need to prove the Stephans had anything to do with Ezekiel’s death,” Weich told the jury.
She went on to say that she has no doubt the accused loved Ezekiel and wanted him to be well.
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However, Weich posed a question to the jury, over and over.
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“Ask yourself, what would a reasonably prudent parent do? I’m going to say – they take him to a doctor.”
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She pointed out that three doctors at the Children’s Hospital all said Ezekiel had bacterial meningitis and thought it may have been possible to save the boy if his parents had sought medical attention sooner.
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Weich pointed out that the couple gave the same story over and over four years ago and said “the only time they told a different story was last week.”
She became emotional when she said Ezekiel was dead before the ambulance got to him.
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“They should have taken him to a doctor and they didn’t. That’s the failure.”
“A reasonably prudent parent would have foreseen the risk and would have taken him to a doctor,” she said.
Weich wrapped her remarks by saying that the parents should not have walked to the hospital – they should have run.
The jury will hear instructions from the judge on Monday afternoon.