Dead baby's dad 'not normal', court told

Dead baby's dad 'not normal', court told

Lawyer pushes for psychiatric tests after verdict

The actions of a father who performed hours of artificial respiration and used electrical wires to try to restart his daughter's heart should be reason enough for the court to call for a psychiatric assessment, his lawyer said Thursday.

What Jonathan Hope did four years ago after discovering his infant daughter's lifeless body raises questions about his mental functioning, Joan Blumer said. She applied to have the court call for testing to see if Hope should be found not criminally responsible.

Hope and his former wife, Lisa Guerin, were convicted of failing to provide the necessities of life, following a two-week trial earlier this month. The pair were acquitted of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing the death of their daughter, Summer Hope, on April 30, 2006.

The girl died after drinking a fatal dose of her father's methadone.

On Thursday, Blumer made an application to have her client found not criminally responsible for the crime by reason of a mental disorder.

Hope performed artificial respiration for hours, then pulled a plug from the wall and scraped the wires with a knife and applied them to his 16-month-old daughter's chest to revive her like he had seen on TV, Blumer said Thursday.

"That ought to cause the court concern," she told Court of Queen's Bench Justice Earl Wilson, adding it was "not normal behaviour."

Blumer said the evidence is not necessarily enough to warrant a finding that Hope is not criminally responsible, but should be adequate evidence for testing to be done.

Wilson's decision on the application could set a Canadian precedent.

Hope was initially found unfit to stand trial in the case, but that was changed following a later examination by a court-appointed psychiatrist.

Blumer said a psychiatrist treating Hope before the trial indicated Hope had disorganized thoughts, mood instability and "profound memory lapses."

A second psychiatrist said Hope had cognitive difficulties and antisocial personality traits.

During the application, however, the judge said he could not see any evidence of cognitive problems or memory lapses while watching two recordings of interviews between police and Hope. One of the videos was deemed inadmissible in the end.

Wilson said none of the police officers, paramedics, firefighters, nor the medical examiner, indicated that Hope had cognitive issues or a faulty memory.

Outside of court, Crown prosecutor Ken McCaffrey said even though Hope's behaviour the day his daughter died may have been peculiar, it doesn't mean he's not criminally responsible in Summer's death.

He added it is highly unusual that Blumer is making this application after a verdict. He said the Crown will argue the evidence has to be more compelling for the judge to agree with Blumer's application.

Generally, a lawyer makes a not-criminally-responsible defence during the trial and not after conviction, but Blumer noted the Criminal Code stipulates the application can be made at any point prior to sentencing.

The application hearing will continue on Monday.

Dad of overdose victim has mental health issues, lawyer argues
Spending hours trying to revive his dead baby, including an attempt to fashion a home-made defibrillator, is evidence a Calgary man has mental health issues, his lawyer said Thursday.
Defence counsel Joan Blumer said Jonathan Hope should be examined by a psychiatrist to determine if he was insane at the time he failed to properly care for his daughter.
Justice Earl Wilson questioned whether there was sufficient reason to believe Hope may have been not criminally responsible at the time of his daughter’s methadone overdose.
Wilson said he saw no indication of the “cognitive dysfunction” doctors who earlier tested Hope suggested may exist, in the evidence called at his trial.
But Blumer said her client’s reaction to discovering little Summer Hope unconscious and not breathing in their Southwood-area home was proof enough.
“This was a man who was apparently administering artificial respiration on a child for hours after she was deceased,” Blumer said.
“This is a man who pulls a plug out of the wall ... and applied that to the child,” she said.
“That in my view is not normal behaviour.”
Wilson convicted Hope and his former wife, Lisa Guerin, of failing to provide the necessaries of life after their 16-month-old daughter died April 29, 2006.
The dad told emergency responders he awoke the next day around 9 a.m. and desperately tried to revive her until he spoke to a relative four hours later, who then summoned medical help.
During the course of his attempt he cut an electrical cord from a lamp, stripped the ends and tried to shock his daughter back to life.
Blumer said a brain injury suffered by Hope years earlier may have impacted his ability to appreciate the consequences of his conduct.
“That lead him to the bizarre things (he did) after the death of his daughter,” she said of the earlier injury.
She said Wilson should send Hope for testing to determine his mental state at the time.
The judge will hear submissions from Crown prosecutor Ken McCaffrey, who is opposing the application, on Monday.

Calgary parents acquitted of manslaughter in infant's methadone death

Parents dodge manslaughter ruling in daughter's methadone death

Parents acquitted of manslaughter in tot's manslaughter death

They may have poor parenting skills, but the mother and father of a Calgary toddler who died of a methadone overdose aren’t killers, a judge ruled Friday.

Justice Earl Wilson said while Jonathan Hope and Lisa Guerin failed in their parental duties by not getting their daughter medical help, they did not know she would die.

If fact, Wilson said, Hope’s conduct once he found 16-month-old Summer Hope not breathing the next morning he acted as a loving father would.

“He panicked and he tried desperately and for hours to revive her and he failed,” the Court of Queen’s Bench judge said.

Wilson acquitted both Hope and Guerin of manslaughter and criminal negligence charges in the April 29, 2006, death of their little girl in their Southwood area home.

He did find both parents guilty of failing to provide the necessaries of life by not seeking medical intervention when the girl ingested a small, but deadly amount of methadone.

But Wilson said neither expected the tragic consequences of their parental inactions.

“Neither of these parents took any steps to obtain proper, or any, medical attention,” he said.

The judge ruled Summer took a sip from a coffee cup which contained methadone “backwash” from a dosage Hope took earlier in the day at a clinic.

Hope told police he drank the coffee to help wash down the taste of the drug and continued sipping it on his way home.

There was still liquid left in the cup when he arrived at the southwest basement suite he shared with Guerin and their two kids.

When he went to do some repairs on their car so Guerin could use it to drive to Rocky Mountain House for an exotic dancer job he placed the cup in their bedroom and closed the door.

Wilson accepted evidence from former cocaine addict Amanda MacDonald that when Hope returned he and Guerin argued about Summer drinking from the cup.

He said Hope failed in his parental duties by not doing anything to get the child medical care and Guerin was similarly negligent for not doing anything.

Before leaving, Guerin convinced Hope the child would be okay.

“Regardless of Guerin’s response, Hope was not incapable of doing something, anything, to get Summer to the hospital,” Wilson said.

Both parents remain in custody pending a sentencing date being set next Friday.

CALGARY- Summer Hope was too young to know that the drink she swallowed contained a fatal dose of methadone, but when she did, her parents should have done the responsible thing and taken the 16-month-old to the hospital.

But while Jonathan Hope and Lisa Guerin were irresponsible parents in not seeking medical attention, they are not guilty of manslaughter in the death of their little girl, a judge ruled Friday. Justice Earl Wilson also acquitted Hope and Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope) of criminal negligence causing death, saying there was no evidence either parent was aware that drinking the opiate, often used to treat addiction, could kill the little girl.

"The prudent parent seeks medical attention. No real willingness to do that was shown by either parent," Wilson told court. Instead, Wilson convicted each parent of a lesser charge of failing to provide the necessities of life -- a ruling that drew an angry reaction from the godfather of the little girl.

Terrance Lynn said he was disturbed by the verdict, calling it "ludicrous" neither was convicted on the criminal negligence charge.

"She doesn't get to have a life," Terrance Lynn, a longtime friend of Guerin, said of his dead goddaughter.

"Jail time would be a necessity in this case," he said outside court Friday after the verdict was handed down.

During the trial, expert witnesses said the little girl would need only have consumed as little as a teaspoon of the drug for it to be fatal.

But the judge said he doubts many are aware of how lethal methadone can be to those who have never taken opiates.

Wilson outlined the actions Hope, the father, took after discovering his daughter was not breathing on the morning of April 30, 2006 -- performing CPR for hours to try to revive her -- and pointed to things Hope told police about his children.

He was, Wilson said, "a loving parent. His statements breathe his love for his children."

For Guerin, Wilson was not satisfied she had a "reckless disregard" for Summer's health and safety. However, responsible parents would have gone to the hospital, even if they were unaware the methadone could be fatal to their child, he said.

Although evidence indicated Hope had pleaded with his then wife to take him and Summer to the hospital, she decided to continue to Rocky Mountain House where she and a friend had work as exotic dancers for the weekend and Guerin had plans to meet a boyfriend.

Even after Guerin left, Wilson pointed out that Hope "could have walked or hitchhiked to Rockyview Hospital."

During the two-week trial, the court heard medical intervention likely would have saved the little girl's life.

Neither of the accused appeared to react to the verdict.

Outside of court, however, Hope's family said they were relieved to hear the decision. "We feel he got a fair verdict," his cousin Corrine Vooys said. "He loved those kids. He wanted the best for them."

In giving his reasons for the conviction, Wilson said he did not believe Guerin's evidence when she took the stand in her own defence and said she had no knowledge her daughter had consumed methadone.

Prosecutor Ken McCaffrey said the Crown will seek "significant jail time." The maximum sentence for the conviction is five years.

Guerin's lawyer, Adriano Iovinelli, said he was pleased Guerin was acquitted of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. He will ask for her immediate release Friday when the lawyers and Wilson set a date for sentencing.

I completely agree with the acquittal of the two more serious charges. I don't believe these parents believed that their child would die and the father did try to revive her and perform CPR as soon as he discovered that she was not breathing. This shows his loving nature. Yes they should have taken her to the hospital and I agree with the conviction of failing to provide the necessities of life but they did not know she was going to die.

Mother tells trial she didn't know toddler drank fatal dose of methadone

Mother tells trial she didn't know toddler drank fatal dose of methadone
Mom pleads ignorance in baby's methadone death

CALGARY - The mother of a toddler who died after drinking a lethal dose of methadone took the stand in her own defence this morning, telling the court she did not know 16-month-old Summer Hope had consumed the synthetic opiate before the little girl died.

Lisa Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope) testified she never said her daughter drank methadone, nor that it had happened when she left Calgary on April 29 for Rocky Mountain House where she had work as an exotic dancer and planned to meet her boyfriend while her husband stayed at home with the couple's two children.

Summer died on April 30. Toxicology results showed the cause was an overdose of methadone and the little girl had enough in her system to kill an adult.

Guerin, 30, and Jonathan Hope, are charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death, and failure to provide the necessities of life in the death of Summer.

Guerin testified if she had known Summer had consumed methadone, she would have taken her and her older brother to the hospital.

"We would not be sitting here right now," she said.

Her testimony contradicted that heard yesterday from Amanda MacDonald, a former friend of Guerin's who went with her to Rocky Mountain House on April 29. On Wednesday, MacDonald said she was in the southwest fourplex with the children as Hope and Guerin packed the car when she saw Summer emerge from the master bedroom with a red-orange stain on her shirt and a damp chin.

MacDonald told court Guerin exclaimed, "Oh my God, Jonathan, she just drank your methadone."

But Guerin said she never said such a thing and she didn't see any red stain on her daughter's shirt before she left.

"She had pizza sauce on her mouth, though," she said.

With her testimony, Guerin's defence concluded its evidence.

This afternoon, the court will start to hear final arguments in the case.

Methadone in tot's blood would have killed an adult

Methadone in tot's blood would have killed an adult
Methadone dose could have killed adult, court hears

Pathologist gives evidence in child's death

The amount of methadone in the blood of a toddler who overdosed on the drug would have been lethal to an adult, a forensic pathologist testified Tuesday.

But an autopsy also revealed 16-month-old Summer Hope had been taken care of before she died.

"At the time . . . she appeared well cared for," Dr. Craig Litwin told the court via video from Vancouver.

Litwin performed the autopsy on the girl on May 1, 2006 -- the day after she was discovered dead in a southwest fourplex.

Her parents, Jonathan Hope and Lisa Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope) are charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and failure to provide the necessities of life in connection with the little girl's death.

Summer died of methadone toxicity.

The synthetic opiate is primarily used in addiction treatment, but also has painkilling properties.

Those prescribed to take the drug acquire a tolerance, but even small amounts can be toxic to people who have never taken it or other opiates.

Litwin told the court methadone affects breathing and heart rate, with both slowing or growing irregular when too much of the drug is taken.

Summer had 0.42 milligrams of methadone per litre of blood -- an amount Litwin said would be lethal in an adult.

"The amount of methadone detected in her system was very high," he said.

He was unable to say how much methadone Summer consumed nor how long after ingesting the drug she would have started to show signs of overdose.

Litwin echoed testimony given Monday by a forensic toxicologist who said there is a quick and readily available antidote that may have saved the little girl if treatment had been sought.

The pathologist said other than a few minor scrapes and healing bruises, the only other thing he noted in his autopsy report was a series of linear "dry, yellow lesions" on Summer's chest, consistent with an electrical type of burn.

"The presence of the injuries . . . suggest (an) electrical current was applied to and passed through her body," Litwin said.

Under cross-examination from Hope's defence lawyer, Joan Blumer, Litwin agreed he could not confirm if those marks were definitively electrical burns.

Court heard earlier that Hope used bare live wires from a lamp to try to restart his daughter's heart after CPR failed to revive her.

Meanwhile, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Earl Wilson ruled comments made by Hope to paramedics and firefighters responding to a 911 call about Summer on the day she died were voluntary.

Blumer had argued there was an appearance of authority coming from the two firefighters and three paramedics who attended Hope's home on April 30 and were questioning him about what happened, even though the answers would not help the toddler.

Wilson ruled that the paramedics and firefighters had a "genuine" interest in finding out what happened and were not asking questions as agents for police. However, Wilson said an interview between Hope and members of the Child at Risk Response Team -- a police officer and a social worker -- at a police station on the same day Summer died is not admissible because the Crown could not show how Hope got to the interview and therefore could not prove it was voluntary.

Wilson also ruled Guerin's comments made in a Nanaimo courtroom after she was arrested on a warrant last June are admissible.

During a brief appearance, Guerin told the judge in Nanaimo, "It's been four years. I'm sick and tired of it. I just want to plead guilty and get it over with."

This comment was similar to one she made earlier that day in the back of an RCMP cruiser.

Whether her comments were related to the manslaughter charge or other outstanding warrants that had been issued is unclear, Guerin's lawyer, Adriano Iovinelli, said.