More than a year after 15-month-old Nathaniel McLellan died, his mother wrote to police pushing for charges against his babysitter, a London, Ont., courtroom heard on Monday.
“Kent and I are hopeful that in this coming year, 2017, you will bring charges against (Meggin Van Hoof), the woman responsible for our son’s death,鈥 Rose-Anne Van De Wiele said in an email to the lead Ontario Provincial Police detective, according to evidence presented聽during the manslaughter trial of Van Hoof.
Van De Wiele and her husband 鈥渃ontinue to be horrified that (Van Hoof) is volunteering with children,鈥 she wrote. 鈥淪he ended my baby’s life. Nathaniel’s life. Our son’s life. Charges must be laid.鈥
Nathaniel McLellan.
suppliedNathaniel died in October 2015, days after he was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries. Van De Wiele, a teacher, had dropped her son off at Van Hoof鈥檚 daycare on the morning of Oct. 27. Hours later, she got a call that Nathaniel was not well and to pick him up. Van Hoof told her that 鈥淣athaniel has fallen and he鈥檚 hit his head,” court previously heard.
Van De Wiele said that when she got to him, his eyes were shut and he was stiff. She testified she could see a cut at the top of his left ear, and a red abrasion on his temple. She rushed him to a local hospital, which transferred him to a London trauma centre. He died there on Oct. 31, 2015. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
Van Hoof, who ran an unlicensed home daycare in Strathroy, was charged with manslaughter six years after Nathaniel鈥檚 death, following a 海角社区官网Star investigation. She has pleaded not guilty. Her judge-alone trial is in front of Superior Court Justice Michael Carnegie.
Meggin Van Hoof is charged with manslaughter.
InstagramOn Monday, Van Hoof鈥檚 lawyer, Geoff Snow, walked Van De Wiele through a series of emails she sent, suggesting they indicated she was set on having the babysitter charged and convicted in Nathaniel鈥檚 death. Van De Wiele stressed she was simply looking for answers surrounding what had happened to her son that morning, and that she 鈥渨anted charges against whoever it would be.鈥
Snow poked holes in the language she had used in the correspondence, including in the Jan 3. 2017, email to Det. Sgt. Todd Amlin, the primary OPP investigator at the time and the officer assigned as her 鈥渧ictim liaison officer.鈥
鈥淣athaniel was a perfectly healthy child in the care of (Van Hoof) when an acquired injury occurred (assault) that caused his death,鈥 she wrote to Amlin. 鈥淎s he lay helpless and dying, she did not call 911.鈥
Under questioning, Van De Wiele said she sent that email after learning more information about her son鈥檚 death聽鈥 specifically, that an acquired injury caused his death. 鈥淚 was angry,鈥 she said. (Police had initially investigated Van De Wiele and her husband, Kent McLellan, as 鈥減ersons of interest鈥 in Nathaniel鈥檚 death, court heard.)
In another email dated Jan 12, 2017, Van De Wiele told Amlin that 鈥渁ny happiness or joy鈥 her family experiences would always be “overshadowed by the homicide of our son, Nathaniel, committed by Meggin Van Hoof.鈥 She again pleaded for police to charge the babysitter.
Snow argued Van De Wiele was making 鈥渁n emphatic, I would suggest, demand of officer Amlin: 鈥楥harge Meggin Van Hoof.鈥 鈥
Van De Wiele replied, 鈥淚 did want that.鈥
The trial continues on Tuesday.
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation