The crown attorney’s delay in providing information on Nathaniel McLellan’s involuntary manslaughter case has caused the matter to be delayed for another two months.
Meggin Van Hoof, 42, of Strathroy, was charged on June 23 with manslaughter for Nathaniel’s death in 2015. A Toronto Star series, Death in a Small Town, delved into the mysterious case of the 15-year-old girl. months. Van Hoof was arrested a week after the publication of the Star series.
On Thursday, Van Hoof’s lawyer, Peter Downing, appeared on his behalf in a London court. Downing told the court that although he had received preliminary release of police documents from the London crown office, Downing said he has “received nothing” since he was in court with the crown on July 15, two months ago.
“This is a case that will be widely publicized. I hope the crown is working its way through it, ”Downing said. The crown in the case, Jeremy Carnegie, was not in court and another crown who appeared said he did not see “notes” of the expected timing in the documents provided to him for Van Hoof’s appearance.
“Even if I received this disclosure by tomorrow,” Downing said it would take a significant amount of time to complete.
The court set November 18 as the next day for the Van Hoof matter to return to court. A trial date will be set at that time, unless there is an additional delay with disclosure.
As the Star series revealed last June, Nathaniel was being cared for by Van Hoof at his home nursery in October 2015 when he collapsed. His mother, Rose-Anne, received a phone call from Van Hoof and Rose-Anne took her son to the hospital. Nathaniel died several days later, after sustaining a head injury. For more than a year, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Strathroy Police focused their attention on Rose-Anne and her husband Kent.
The Star begins investigating the case two years after Nathaniel’s death, conducting interviews and successfully arguing in court for the release of the police documents. The five-part series of The Star focused on deficiencies in police and medical investigations.
Reached at the family home in Parkhill, near London, Ontario. Rose-Anne McLellan said she was disappointed that “there was nothing new today” in court, “but our family realizes that a case of this importance does not always move quickly.”
Previous stories from The Star detailed how Rose-Anne, a teacher, searched for years for answers in her son’s case, familiarizing herself with legal, police and medical procedures.
Read the full Death in a Small Town series and stay up-to-date on the latest developments at thestar.com/DTS
Reference-www.thestar.com