PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "“Everyone was talking about stairs,” Van De Wiele told court. And though the document has not been produced in court, the trial has heard that someone noted on a hospital document that Nathaniel fell down 15 stairs.
Snow pointed out that after Van De Wiele made the comment in her first interview with police, she appears to have retracted it, saying “I could even be wrong about (Van Hoof) even saying that he fell on stairs.” Both parents have described the hectic few hours when Nathaniel was being treated first at the Strathroy hospital, then at a better-equipped London hospital. That’s where Strathroy police Det. Gilles Philion interviewed them, separately. Court has heard that Van Hoof’s house, a bungalow, has stairs leading to the basement playroom. Court has also heard that there is a short flight of steps into the garage, near where Nathaniel apparently collapsed."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Defence lawyer Snow put it to McLellan (as he previously did to Van De Wiele) that he was “consumed” with his client being charged — and concerned that no charges would ever be laid. McLellan agreed, “I wanted charges.” He said the death of their son brought on “sadness” and “depression” and he was worried he might lose his business. But he said what he really wanted is closure, to know what happened. “The worst thing to me is that I do not find out what happened to my boy.” Throughout the trial, Snow has painted a picture of two parents who initially felt that police suspected them in their son’s death. He has suggested that prompted them to focus their attentions on his client."
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STORY: "Nathaniel McLellan may have fallen down stairs at babysitter’s house, trial hears," by Chief Investigative Reporter Kevin Donovan, published on January 123, 2026, by The Toronto Star. (Kevin Donovan is the Toronto Star’s Chief Investigative Reporter. His focus is on journalism that exposes wrongdoing and effects change. Over more than three decades he has reported on the activities of charities, government, police, business among other institutions. Donovan also reported from the battlefields in the Gulf War and the war in Afghanistan following 9/11. He has won three National Newspaper Awards, two Governor General’s Michener Awards, the Canadian Journalism Foundation award and three Canadian Association of Journalists Awards. As the Star’s editor of investigations for many years, Donovan led many award-winning projects for the paper. He is the author of several books, including “Secret Life: The Jian Ghomeshi Investigation” and the “Dead Times” (a fiction novel).
SUB-HEADING: “You thought there was a possibility that Meggin Van Hoof threw your son down the stairs,” lawyer asks toddler’s father at manslaughter trial.
Jan. 12, 2026."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Doctors in London, Ont., determined Nathaniel McLellan had a fracture in the back of his skull. He was declared brain-dead and removed from life support on Oct. 31, 2015."
GIST: "Conflicting accounts of 15-month-old Nathaniel McLellan possibly falling or being thrown down a flight of stairs at his babysitter’s home dominated the London, Ont., trial over his death on Monday.
Defence lawyer Geoff Snow, whose client Meggin Van Hoof is on trial for manslaughter, took the toddler’s father through a statement he made to police back in 2015 in the hours after his son was mysteriously injured. Kent McLellan was asked by a police detective what his wife, Rose-Anne Van De Wiele, told him she had learned from a brief conversation with the babysitter when she collected Nathaniel on a Strathroy street and rushed him to hospital.
“She thought she heard (Van Hoof) say he fell down the stairs,” Kent McLellan told a Strathroy Caradoc police detective on Oct. 27, 2015. McLellan was interviewed at a London hospital in a boardroom while specialists were trying to save Nathaniel.
“But then (Van De Wiele) said, I don’t know whether or not that’s what Meggin said,” McLellan can be heard saying on the police recording of his interview.
The prosecution alleges that Van Hoof either caused Nathaniel’s death with some overt action, or that she failed to assist him (including calling 911) when he became unwell at her home. Van Hoof has pleaded not guilty.
Medical testimony from experts will be presented later in the trial. So far, court has heard only that Nathaniel died from a massive head injury. The case was the subject of a Toronto Star investigation and podcast.
During his third day of cross-examination, Nathaniel’s father was asked to recall these events from more than 10 years ago.
“You thought there was a possibility that Meggin Van Hoof threw your son down the stairs,” Snow asked McLellan.
McLellan replied: “I had a thought about Meggin Van Hoof hurting Nate,” he said. In the early days, McLellan said he believed that whatever happened was accidental, but that belief changed over time, he told court.
The issue of a stair fall has come up before in the trial.
Earlier, when Nathaniel’s mother (Van De Wiele) testified, she said that the notion that there was a stair fall came out of a conversation with staff at the hospital.
“Everyone was talking about stairs,” Van De Wiele told court. And though the document has not been produced in court, the trial has heard that someone noted on a hospital document that Nathaniel fell down 15 stairs.
Snow pointed out that after Van De Wiele made the comment in her first interview with police, she appears to have retracted it, saying “I could even be wrong about (Van Hoof) even saying that he fell on stairs.”
Both parents have described the hectic few hours when Nathaniel was being treated first at the Strathroy hospital, then at a better-equipped London hospital. That’s where Strathroy police Det. Gilles Philion interviewed them, separately.
Court has heard that Van Hoof’s house, a bungalow, has stairs leading to the basement playroom. Court has also heard that there is a short flight of steps into the garage, near where Nathaniel apparently collapsed.
Defence lawyer Snow put it to McLellan (as he previously did to Van De Wiele) that he was “consumed” with his client being charged — and concerned that no charges would ever be laid.
McLellan agreed, “I wanted charges.” He said the death of their son brought on “sadness” and “depression” and he was worried he might lose his business. But he said what he really wanted is closure, to know what happened. “The worst thing to me is that I do not find out what happened to my boy.”
Throughout the trial, Snow has painted a picture of two parents who initially felt that police suspected them in their son’s death. He has suggested that prompted them to focus their attentions on his client.
He asked McLellan about his frequent monitoring of Facebook postings by Van Hoof, including ones from the babysitter’s side business — selling plastic “wraps” that would help people lose weight.
McLellan passed on these posts to police detectives and Snow questioned why he would do this. McLellan said he thought this “wrap” business was “a scam” and wanted police to know about it.
Court heard McLellan, in one interview with detectives, referred to Van Hoof as a “social media freak.” McLellan agreed that he said that.
Snow suggested McLellan told police about his client’s side business because “you felt Meggin couldn’t be believed and if the police knew this, then they wouldn’t believe Meggin.”
McLellan replied: “I wanted the police to know that Meggin was selling something that I didn’t think was believable.”
The trial continues Tuesday. Court heard that Snow might finish his cross-examination of McLellan by midday Tuesday. Crown attorney Meredith Gardiner said she will then call her third witness. (The parents were witnesses number one and two.)"
The entire story can be read at:
article_4244f44a-481f-4604-a4af-019330bf495f.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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