Alberta father of toddler who died of meningitis testifies in own defence

An Alberta father accused with his wife of causing the death of their toddler by refusing to take him to a doctor when he had meningitis told aLethbridgecourtthat hethought his son just had theflu.

David Stephan, 32, and his wife,Collet Stephan, 35, have pleaded not guilty to failing to provide the necessaries of life for their 19-month-old son Ezekiel, who died in March 2012.

"We hope to show that we're not guilty, by explaining what took place," David Stephan told CBC News as he and his wife arrived at the courthouse Monday.

The couple held hands before themanwent to the witness box to be sworn in before an eight-woman, four-man jury.

"I saw lethargy. He had the presence of just being sick or unwell, and I just felt he probably had the flu," he testified about his son's illness, which lasted a few weeks before his death.

Stephantold courthe knew little about meningitis before his son died. (The illnessis an inflammation of the membranessurrounding thebrain and spinal cord, and can becaused by a virus).

"We are not abusive parents that would inflict physical harm on our children," Stephantestified.

The trial began March 7and the prosecution rested its case just over two weeks ago.

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In its opening statement, the Crown told court the couple loved their son and are not accused of ignoring or killing him but argued they should have sought medical help sooner.

The jury already heardthat the couple used home remedies like olive leaf extract and whey protein rather than take Ezekiel to a doctor.

A witnesswho fills holistic prescriptions at the Lethbridge Naturopathic Medical Clinictestified earlier in the trial that ColletStephan called her in March 2012 asking for something to build the child's immune system because she feared the boy had some form of meningitis.

The jury also heard evidence that the child becameso stiff, he was unable to sit in his car seat and had to lie on a mattress in the back of the family's vehicle.

David Stephan disputed that Monday, saying the problem wasn't thatEzekiel wastoo stiff but that he found it too uncomfortable.

The court heard that theStephansdid not seek medical help untilthe toddler stopped breathing.

Ezekiel was airlifted to a hospital in Calgary.

Stephandescribed how he reacted when doctors theretold the couple that Ezekiel was non-responsive.

"Icouldn't grasp it at the time," he said.

The child was taken off life support after five days.

Truehope

David Stephan told court that he is vice president of anutritional supplements companyfounded by his father,Truehope Nutritional Support Inc., based inRaymond.

Health Canada launched an unsuccessful court case in 2004 to try to stop the distribution of the company's supplement EMPowerplus a product the company claims can manage mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and also issued warnings about it.

In 2006, the company was found not guilty of distributing EMPowerplus without a drug identification number.

Last month,court heard theStephansgave the boya scoop ofEMPowerplus. On the couple'sFacebook page,David Stephan says Ezekiel was already taking the supplement regularly because it "assists with brain function."

Court alsoheard theStephansgave the boyvarious home remedieswater with maple syrup, juice with frozen berries and finally a mixture of apple cider vinegar, horseradish root, hot peppers, mashed onion,garlic and ginger rootas Ezekiel's condition worsened.

The family has posted on social media that they feel they are being unfairly persecuted andtheir approach to health should be respected.