Negligence charges laid against Calgary mom who used holistic treatment before son d
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The Calgary woman on trial for the death of her seven-year-old son told police it didn't occur to her to take him to a hospital until the day before he died, but a digital forensics expert testified Friday she had been searching online for related health information for weeks prior.
The search terms included words like "children," "swollen groin," "seven-year-old," "pain," "jaundice," "darkened urine," "anemia," "loss of appetite," "kids sick" and "natural cures," Gary Lee Novokowsky testified at the trial of Tamara Lovett.
Ryan was found dead on March 2, 2013 by paramedics who responded to the family's home after Lovett called 911 in a panic, saying her son was having convulsions.
Court heard the boy was covered in vomit and cold to the touch by the time paramedics and police arrived at the apartment building and found him lying in a hallway.
Ryan had been sick for weeks and his health had seriously deteriorated in the 10 days before his death, according to evidence presented at the trial.
Lovett tried to treat his illness with dandelion tea and oil of oregano, court heard, and he ultimately died of massive organ failure, suffering from meningitis, pneumonia and a strep infection at the time of his death.
Dr. Taj Jadavji testified that Ryan's death could have been prevented with "a very simple penicillin" early on to address the strep infection.
In a video played in court Friday, she can be heard crying while alone in the interview room.
"Oh my God, Ryan! Ryan!" she says, amid sobs. "Oh, oh Ryan. Oh baby. Oh baby, baby, baby."
Later in the video, she has calmed down and is being asked by a police officer about her son's illness and when she realized he was in need of medical attention.
"Earlier yesterday, when he presented with the yellow, the jaundiced eyes, that was like, 'OK, if this starts to escalate, you've got to think about taking him to the hospital,'" Lovett says in the video.
"That was the first time it entered into my mind in terms of having to do that, like you may just have to take him to the hospital and deal with this."
The forensic expert who analyzed Lovett's computer, however, said her online history included searches as early as Feb. 6 for "swollen," "groin lymph nodes" and "children."
Novokowsky testified that the searches persisted for weeks, right up until the day before Ryan died, when Lovett searched for things like "jaundice," "groin lymph pain children" and "dandelion jaundice alternative treatments."
The trial continues Monday, when Lovett, herself, may testify.
Tamara Lovett searched for health information weeks before her son died, trial hears - Calgary - CBC News
The search terms included words like "children," "swollen groin," "seven-year-old," "pain," "jaundice," "darkened urine," "anemia," "loss of appetite," "kids sick" and "natural cures," Gary Lee Novokowsky testified at the trial of Tamara Lovett.
Ryan was found dead on March 2, 2013 by paramedics who responded to the family's home after Lovett called 911 in a panic, saying her son was having convulsions.
Court heard the boy was covered in vomit and cold to the touch by the time paramedics and police arrived at the apartment building and found him lying in a hallway.
Ryan had been sick for weeks and his health had seriously deteriorated in the 10 days before his death, according to evidence presented at the trial.
Lovett tried to treat his illness with dandelion tea and oil of oregano, court heard, and he ultimately died of massive organ failure, suffering from meningitis, pneumonia and a strep infection at the time of his death.
Dr. Taj Jadavji testified that Ryan's death could have been prevented with "a very simple penicillin" early on to address the strep infection.
In a video played in court Friday, she can be heard crying while alone in the interview room.
"Oh my God, Ryan! Ryan!" she says, amid sobs. "Oh, oh Ryan. Oh baby. Oh baby, baby, baby."
Later in the video, she has calmed down and is being asked by a police officer about her son's illness and when she realized he was in need of medical attention.
"Earlier yesterday, when he presented with the yellow, the jaundiced eyes, that was like, 'OK, if this starts to escalate, you've got to think about taking him to the hospital,'" Lovett says in the video.
"That was the first time it entered into my mind in terms of having to do that, like you may just have to take him to the hospital and deal with this."
The forensic expert who analyzed Lovett's computer, however, said her online history included searches as early as Feb. 6 for "swollen," "groin lymph nodes" and "children."
Novokowsky testified that the searches persisted for weeks, right up until the day before Ryan died, when Lovett searched for things like "jaundice," "groin lymph pain children" and "dandelion jaundice alternative treatments."
The trial continues Monday, when Lovett, herself, may testify.
Tamara Lovett searched for health information weeks before her son died, trial hears - Calgary - CBC News
This mother was ignorant, but mostly stubborn. The story states that she was not isolated, she had friends urging her to take this boy to the hospital for help. He had lost 10 pounds!! and would have suffered greatly for the last few days. I feel sorry for the boy, not the mother.
I notice some of the forum simpletons that are in to holistic and naturopathy have been strangely quiet. It one thing to have your own religious views but when they are potentially harmful, it's unethical to force it down your child's throat.
Homeopathy and naturopathy believers are like the people that lop the clitorises off little girls because their religions say it's best. Throw this brain dead twit in jail for an extended period of time and make it clear to the cretins, your silly religious views will not trump child safety
Homeopathy and naturopathy believers are like the people that lop the clitorises off little girls because their religions say it's best. Throw this brain dead twit in jail for an extended period of time and make it clear to the cretins, your silly religious views will not trump child safety
Agreed.
You can have those views and act them out on yourself but not for those who do not have the ability to make the decision.. To me this is a heart breaking case, as the others have been, that reflects the ultimate delusional selfishness people can have.......
A Calgary woman who treated her dying son with herbal remedies was doing the best she could, her defence lawyer told court Friday as he made his final arguments at her criminal trial.
Tamara Lovett, 47, is charged with criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life to her son, Ryan Alexander Lovett.
Seven-year-old son Ryan died in March 2013 after getting a strep infection that kept him bedridden for 10 days. Ryan also had meningitis, pneumonia and jaundice, court has heard.
According to testimony, Lovett gave the boy dandelion tea and oil of oregano rather than antibiotics.
Lovett's lawyer, Alain Hepner, said in his final submission that there is no doubt Lovett was a loving mother who did everything she could but realized too late how sick Ryan really was.
As Hepner recounted Lovett's testimony that she reasonably believed the boy merely had a cold or flu, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Kristine Eidsvik interrupted him.
"Are you seriously suggesting it wasn't her obligation at that point to take him to a doctor?" Eidsvik said. "She admits at that point, he can't stand up, he's got pain in his groin, he's got fever, his arm is puffing up."
Hepner replied: "She was doing the best she could at that period of time."
Eidsvik said the court must determine at what point an objectively reasonable parent would have taken the boy to a doctor.
"Didn't she have a duty to go in there and get him checked out?" Eidsvik said.
But Crown lawyer Jonathan Hak described her conduct as reckless because she was aware of how sick her son was and failed to help.
"The very person who would have been helping Ryan — his mother — turned out to be his worst enemy," Hak said.
Hak went through a detailed timeline of the days leading up to Ryan's death, describing each and every ailment the little boy suffered — a cough, an ear infection, a bleeding nose, a swollen arm, fever, difficulty standing, pain in his lymph nodes, vomiting and jaundice.
His mother was aware of his symptoms and his suffering and still did not seek medical help, even when it was clear the boy was not recovering, said Hak. During the trial, court heard the boy never saw a medical doctor, his birth was never registered and he did not have an Alberta health card.
Hak said Lovett failed to do her legal duty as a parent and get the boy medical help and should be found guilty of not providing the necessaries of life.
"The last few days of Ryan's life must have been intensely lonely and sad," Hak said.
Calgary mother who treated dying son with herbal remedies 'was doing the best she could': lawyer - Calgary - CBC News
Boy, I am glad I am not your kid
I have no sorrow for the woman, none whatsoever. How many more of these are out there?Negligence charges laid against Calgary mom who used holistic treatment before son died
Police say son died from what would have been a treatable illness
The Calgary Police Service lead 44-year-old Tamara Lovett, charged in connection with the death of her son, in Calgary, Alta November 22, 2013. On Saturday, March 2, 2013, emergency crews were called to a basement suite in the 900 block of 17 Avenue S.W., for a report of a seven-year-old boy having a seizure. The child was transported to hospital where he was pronounced deceased. Due to the boy’s condition when he arrived at hospital, the Service’s Homicide Unit was called to investigate. Jim Wells/Calgary Sun/QMI Agency
Police say a woman gave her bedridden seven-year-old son holistic treatment before he succumbed to what would have been a treatable illness.
Friday, 44-year-old Tamara Lovett was arrested, later charged with criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessities of life in connection with the death of Ryan Lovett.
It is a legal requirement for a parent or guardian to provide food, shelter, care and medical attention necessary to sustain life and protect children from harm.
But in this case, Staff Sgt. Mike Cavilla said the mother opted for alternative medicine, like herbal remedies, despite numerous friends and family urging her to take the boy to a doctor.
“There was a belief system in homeopathic treatments,” he said.
“There were a couple of friends in that ten days who did urge her to seek medical help ... the mother refused to take the child.
“Under the Criminal Code ... if you do not provide medical attention to a sick child you could be held accountable.”
Lovett called EMS to her basement suite in the 900 block of 17 Ave. S.W. on March 2, 2013, saying her child, Ryan, was having a seizure.
Emergency crews arrived to find the boy in cardiac arrest.
Police allege the Grade 2 student was at home, bedridden for 10 days prior to that with what was later identified as a strep infection.
Strep infections are often treatable with medication such as penicillin.
Although it was not only the single mother who saw him deteriorating, no one contacted authorities.
“I think there is a moral responsibility, if you see a child in medical (or any other distress) to make a phone call to police or child and family services to notify people there may be a problem,” Cavilla said.
Paul Hughes, friends with Lovett for more than 20 years and whose son was friends with Ryan, said the allegations are shocking.
“That kid was so full of life and Tamara was an amazing mom,” he said Friday.
“This woman is not a monster. She was a loving mother.
“She was already in prison in her own mind.”
He said the allegations are upsetting.
“It’s a tough one,” he said.
“Hindsight is 20/20. Oh, man, I just wish we could turn back the clock.”
Cavilla said police found no evidence the child in his seven years had ever had medical attention.
“Speaking to medical professionals, they said if treated this could have been prevented,” Cavilla said, adding he hopes the case serves as warning for others who might deny their children medical care.
“The simple message is, if your child is sick take them to a doctor.”
Ryan, who had been home-schooled by his mother for years, was enrolled in school about two months before his death.
Negligence charges laid against Calgary mom who used holistic treatment before son died | Calgary | News | Calgary Sun
So very sad and tragic. I feel both deep sorrow for this woman but also incredible anger at her too.
Hear! Hear! I hope she gets life
I reported child abuse one. They did nothing
While we can agree that a most of holistic medicine like laying of hands is bunk.....It would be interesting to find out how much of our new modern medicine is derived from plants that witch doctors in the jungles of the amazon have used for centuries......?
An Alberta judge says a Calgary woman who treated her son with holistic remedies before he died of a strep infection “gambled away” his life and is guilty of criminal negligence causing death.
Justice Kristine Eidsvik also issued a judicial stay on a second charge against Tamara Lovett of failing to provide the necessaries of life.
“Ms. Lovett took an obvious and seriously incredible risk with Ryan’s health and well-being by taking it on herself to diagnose what remedies would be useful for Ryan without the assistance of more medically qualified help,” Eidsvik said Monday.
“By doing so and administering dandelion tea, for instance, instead of getting him some penicillin, which would have been administered by any doctor, she gambled away Ryan’s life.
“She took a risk that no reasonable parent would have taken at that point and her actions amounted to recklessness and wilful blindness.”
Alberta’s chief medical examiner testified at Lovett’s trial that the boy’s body was full of group A streptococcus bacteria, which caused most of his major organs to fail.
A couple of days before he died, he was complaining of pain in his leg, his eyes became jaundiced and he couldn’t stand on his own, she said during a police interview.
“Ms. Lovett did indeed know the level of Ryan’s suffering but made the deliberate choice not to seek medical care. Doing the best she could was in fact not the best she could do,” said Eidsvik.
“She knew he was getting worse and yet continued along the same course until it was too late. Her actions amounted to a wanton and reckless disregard for the life and safety of her son Ryan.”
The judge also noted Ryan did not have a birth certificate or a health-care card.
Defence lawyer Alain Hepner is hoping to keep his client out of jail at sentencing.
Calgary mother who treated son’s strep infection with oil of oregano criminally negligent in his death | National Post
Justice Kristine Eidsvik also issued a judicial stay on a second charge against Tamara Lovett of failing to provide the necessaries of life.
“Ms. Lovett took an obvious and seriously incredible risk with Ryan’s health and well-being by taking it on herself to diagnose what remedies would be useful for Ryan without the assistance of more medically qualified help,” Eidsvik said Monday.
“By doing so and administering dandelion tea, for instance, instead of getting him some penicillin, which would have been administered by any doctor, she gambled away Ryan’s life.
“She took a risk that no reasonable parent would have taken at that point and her actions amounted to recklessness and wilful blindness.”
Alberta’s chief medical examiner testified at Lovett’s trial that the boy’s body was full of group A streptococcus bacteria, which caused most of his major organs to fail.
A couple of days before he died, he was complaining of pain in his leg, his eyes became jaundiced and he couldn’t stand on his own, she said during a police interview.
“Ms. Lovett did indeed know the level of Ryan’s suffering but made the deliberate choice not to seek medical care. Doing the best she could was in fact not the best she could do,” said Eidsvik.
“She knew he was getting worse and yet continued along the same course until it was too late. Her actions amounted to a wanton and reckless disregard for the life and safety of her son Ryan.”
The judge also noted Ryan did not have a birth certificate or a health-care card.
Defence lawyer Alain Hepner is hoping to keep his client out of jail at sentencing.
Calgary mother who treated son’s strep infection with oil of oregano criminally negligent in his death | National Post
Why did this take so long to get to court.......?
A Calgary mother convicted in her son's "senseless" death after failing to take the bedridden seven-year-old to a doctor for his treatable strep infection was sentenced to three years in prison Friday.
Tamara Lovett, 48, was found guilty in January of criminal negligence causing the death of her son, Ryan, who died in 2013.
"Our children are vulnerable," said Court of Queen's Bench Justice Kristine Eidsvik. "[Lovett's] actions resulted in the senseless death of an innocent child who needed her protection."
Defence lawyer Alain Hepner had proposed a jail term of one year plus probation, while the Crown argued Lovett should spend four to five years in prison.
"This sentence of three years really pales in comparison to the life sentence she's received already for being responsible for the death of her child," Hepner said.
Eidsvik noted the sentence was also designed to deter other parents from failing their children in the same way. A message prosecutor Jonathan Hak said was made clear.
"If your child is not getting better, you are legally and morally bound to take your child to an actual doctor for actual medical care."
Lovett's sentence was handed down shortly after the judge denied her defence lawyer's Jordan application, which argued Lovett's rights were violated because it took too long for her case to make it through the court system.
"It would not be just to set aside a conviction and issue a stay," said Eidsvik in delivering her decision Friday morning.
Hepner had asked the judge to direct a stay of proceedings under new Supreme Court guidelines that put hard timelines on what is considered unreasonable delay.
'Our children are vulnerable': Judge sentences Calgary mother to 3 years in prison for son's strep death - Calgary - CBC News
A Calgary mother convicted in her son's "senseless" death after failing to take the bedridden seven-year-old to a doctor for his treatable strep infection was sentenced to three years in prison Friday.
Tamara Lovett, 48, was found guilty in January of criminal negligence causing the death of her son, Ryan, who died in 2013.
"Our children are vulnerable," said Court of Queen's Bench Justice Kristine Eidsvik. "[Lovett's] actions resulted in the senseless death of an innocent child who needed her protection."
Defence lawyer Alain Hepner had proposed a jail term of one year plus probation, while the Crown argued Lovett should spend four to five years in prison.
"This sentence of three years really pales in comparison to the life sentence she's received already for being responsible for the death of her child," Hepner said.
Eidsvik noted the sentence was also designed to deter other parents from failing their children in the same way. A message prosecutor Jonathan Hak said was made clear.
"If your child is not getting better, you are legally and morally bound to take your child to an actual doctor for actual medical care."
Lovett's sentence was handed down shortly after the judge denied her defence lawyer's Jordan application, which argued Lovett's rights were violated because it took too long for her case to make it through the court system.
"It would not be just to set aside a conviction and issue a stay," said Eidsvik in delivering her decision Friday morning.
Hepner had asked the judge to direct a stay of proceedings under new Supreme Court guidelines that put hard timelines on what is considered unreasonable delay.
'Our children are vulnerable': Judge sentences Calgary mother to 3 years in prison for son's strep death - Calgary - CBC News
Nobody. Everybody has followed due diligence (unless the doctor screws up then its malpractice).