PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Crown attorney Meredith Gardiner has advanced the theory that Nathaniel was hurt during her time with Van Hoof that morning — between 8:30 and 11:30. Court has heard that Nathaniel’s mother, Rose-Anne Van De Wiele, dropped her son at Van Hoof’s unlicensed daycare at 8:30 a.m., before heading to her job as a teacher at a Strathroy elementary school. Van De Wiele has testified that Nathaniel was fine when she dropped him off at Van Hoof’s home."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Previously, Van De Wiele and her husband, Kent McLellan, have testified. An issue that arose in their testimony (in cross-examination by defence lawyer Geoff Snow) is whether an accidental “door bump” on the Monday night at the family home could have caused some sort of head injury that did not manifest itself until the next day. Both parents say Nathaniel was fine after a “few tears” from what they said was a minor bump when a door was inadvertently opened, with Nathaniel behind it. Hendrikx is the first non-family witness heard in the trial, which began in September but has had numerous breaks due to legal issues."
STORY: "Toddler Nathaniel seemed fine hours before being rushed to hospital, preschool teacher testifies,' by Chief Investigative Reporter Kevin Donovan, published by The Toronto Star, on January 14, 2026."
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PASSAGE THREE OF THE DAY: "The Crown’s manslaughter charge has two elements. First, the Crown alleges that something happened to Nathaniel while in Van Hoof’s care that resulted in his head injury. And second, once Nathaniel became unwell, that Van Hoof failed to call 911."
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"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)."
SUN-HEADING: "First witness in babysitter’s trial over death of Nathan McLellan who isn’t a family member tells court about the morning he collapsed."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Nathaniel McLellan died on Oct. 31, 2015. Ten years later, his babysitter is on trial for manslaughter."
GIST: "There was “nothing unusual” with Nathaniel McLellan when the owner of a Strathroy, Ont., preschool saw the toddler on a Tuesday morning, a few hours before he was rushed to hospital, a London manslaughter trial GIST: "There was heard Wednesday.
Emily Hendrikx, who ran Emily’s Preschool, saw 15-month-old Nathaniel in the arms of babysitter Meggin Van Hoof when Van Hoof was dropping her own daughter at the preschool around 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015.
“There was absolutely nothing different from any other day,” Hendrikx told court. She said Nathaniel never looked upset or distressed, and she saw nothing out of the ordinary that morning.
Van Hoof is facing a charge of manslaughter in Nathaniel’s death. Van Hoof has pleaded not guilty. The case was the focus of a Toronto Star series and podcast.
Crown attorney Meredith Gardiner has advanced the theory that Nathaniel was hurt during her time with Van Hoof that morning — between 8:30 and 11:30. Court has heard that Nathaniel’s mother, Rose-Anne Van De Wiele, dropped her son at Van Hoof’s unlicensed daycare at 8:30 a.m., before heading to her job as a teacher at a Strathroy elementary school. Van De Wiele has testified that Nathaniel was fine when she dropped him off at Van Hoof’s home.
Hendrikx is the first non-family witness heard in the trial, which began in September but has had numerous breaks due to legal issues. Previously, Van De Wiele and her husband, Kent McLellan, have testified. An issue that arose in their testimony (in cross-examination by defence lawyer Geoff Snow) is whether an accidental “door bump” on the Monday night at the family home could have caused some sort of head injury that did not manifest itself until the next day. Both parents say Nathaniel was fine after a “few tears” from what they said was a minor bump when a door was inadvertently opened, with Nathaniel behind it.
Crown prosecutor Gardiner set the scene that morning more than 10 years ago, questioning Hendrikx about the preschool she ran beside the elementary school where Van De Wiele taught. Hendrikx had opened the preschool the year before, and previously worked more than a decade in child care. Hendrikx was looking after five children that Tuesday morning, including Van Hoof’s daughter.
Hendrikx said that babysitter Van Hoof typically dropped her own daughter at preschool around 9 a.m. Hendrikx said Van Hoof carried Nathaniel in her arms as she brought her daughter into Emily’s Preschool.
Sometimes, Hendrikx told court, Van Hoof would keep Nathaniel in her arms while her own daughter took off her shoes and headed into the preschool. Other days, Hendrikx said, Van Hoof would put Nathaniel down and he would walk towards Hendrikx. tayed in Van Hoof’s arms. Asked if anything seemed different about Nathaniel that particular morning, Hendrikx said no.
“Nothing unusual,” she said.
After the drop-off, Van Hoof took Nathaniel and another little boy back to her bungalow just up the street.
As court has heard, Nathaniel showed signs of being unwell later in the morning.
“He collapsed,” Hendrikx recalls babysitter Van Hoof telling her several days later.
Court has heard that later that morning, Van Hoof called Van De Wiele’s school to say Nathaniel was unwell. Van Hoof said she would walk with Nathaniel to meet Van De Wiele. Van De Wiele testified that her son was stiff and unresponsive when she met them on the street. She rushed him to hospital. Nathaniel died several days later of a massive head injury.
The Crown’s manslaughter charge has two elements. First, the Crown alleges that something happened to Nathaniel while in Van Hoof’s care that resulted in his head injury. And second, once Nathaniel became unwell, that Van Hoof failed to call 911.
Hendrikx said that when she spoke to Van Hoof later that week, Van Hoof told her Nathaniel was in “critical” condition, and Van Hoof asked Hendrikx if either police or children’s aid society workers had contacted her with questions. Court heard police interviewed Hendrikx the following week.
The trial, in front of Judge Michael Carnegie, continues Friday. The next witness is expected to be a man who lives in the neighbourhood.'
the entire story can be read at:
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
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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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