海角社区官网

The trial, expected to last four to six weeks, begins in a London courthouse Wednesday.聽

Nathaniel was 15 months old when he collapsed at Van Hoof’s home in Strathroy on Oct. 27, 2015. Van Hoof operated an unlicensed daycare in the southwestern Ontario community and was looking after Nathaniel, along with several other children. As previously reported by the Star, Van Hoof called Rose-Anne just before noon to say Nathaniel was unwell. Rose-Anne, a teacher at a school nearby, picked up Nathaniel and rushed him to hospital. He died several days later, and an autopsy determined the cause was serious head injuries.

Van Hoof has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge. As the Star previously reported, she told detectives at the time that Nathaniel appeared “normal” when his mother dropped him off in the morning, but seemed “grumpy” later on. At one point, she told detectives, Nathaniel “kicked and screamed” and threw himself on the floor. Later he collapsed, prompting her to call his mother.聽

The Star profiled the case in an investigative series in 2021 that showed how the Strathroy-Caradoc Police Service and detectives from the OPP zeroed in on Nathaniel’s parents from day one. Days after the publication of the Star’s series, new detectives who were later assigned to the case arrested the babysitter, Van Hoof, and charged her with manslaughter.

It’s a case that has drawn a great deal of attention in the communities of Strathroy and Parkhill (where the Van de Weile/McLellan family lives) and beyond. In the four years since Van Hoof was arrested there have been frequent court appearances, with dozens of family and friends of the McLellan family attending the case or logging in through Zoom.

The case could have gone to trial earlier, but there have been numerous delays. First, Van Hoof’s former legal team complained that the Crown and the OPP were slow to provide disclosure of case files. Then, Van Hoof twice changed lawyers, which further slowed the case as her new legal team had to get up to speed. Also, the Crown attorney originally on the case, Jason Miller, was made a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice last year.

Van Hoof is now represented by the legal team of Geoff Snow and Danielle D’Alonzo. Crown attorneys Meredith Gardiner and Lerren Ducharme are the prosecutors. The case will be heard聽鈥� judge alone, no jury聽鈥� by Judge Michael Carnegie of the Superior Court.聽聽

Witnesses expected to be called to testify include police officers from the OPP and the Strathroy force; medical staff that treated Nathaniel; an expert from the 海角社区官网Hospital for Sick Children; family of both the McLellans and Van Hoof; and people who had previous dealings with the Van Hoof daycare.聽

On Wednesday, court will hear Carnegie’s ruling on whether the 海角社区官网Star reporter who investigated the case will be called as a witness. The defence team recently subpoenaed the reporter; 海角社区官网Star lawyer Justin Manoryk has argued in court that the subpoena has no merit and should be quashed. Court heard arguments from the Star, the defence and the Crown on Monday. Carnegie said he will decide Wednesday, issuing his ruling just before the trial begins. Court also heard that Nathaniel’s mother will be the first witness called by the Crown.聽

The Star’s investigation began in 2017, two years after Nathaniel died. The family lives in a farming community that is tightly knit. Kent, Rose-Anne. Nathaniel and his three older brothers lived in the home Kent grew up in. As the Star reported, Nathaniel was an energetic, happy, bouncy little guy. The neighbour in the house closest to him said Nathaniel was “cute to the core.”

Within hours of Nathaniel being rushed to hospital, the local police zeroed in on Rose-Anne and Kent聽鈥� particularly Rose-Anne聽鈥� as being responsible for Nathaniel’s death. The police theory was that Nathaniel was injured the day before by being bumped by a door in their house.

Two years after the death, the Star went to court and obtained search warrant documents filed in the case. Those documents, along with numerous interviews, revealed that the police appeared to have a myopic view of the case.聽

The trial is likely to shed light on the quality of the initial police investigations. The Star’s series pointed to numerous problems in the way officers and detectives went about their job聽鈥� in one instance conducting videotaped interviews with Nathaniel’s three older brothers (6, 8 and 10 years old at the time) in their grandparents’ basement with no parent or relative present. A children’s aid society investigator was present, but it’s common when minors are involved to have a family member there to provide support.

In another instance, the original OPP detectives on the case (they were later replaced) appear to have used a ruse to make it seem as if one of the parents had confessed聽鈥� in a bid to get the other parent to confess.聽

A 海角社区官网Star podcast, Death in a Small Town, delved into the case.