BACKGROUND: "Van Hoof is facing a charge of manslaughter in the now 10-year-old case. The prosecution alleges that Van Hoof either caused the child’s death with some overt action on the day she was caring for Nathaniel, or that she failed to assist him (including calling 911) when he collapsed at her Strathroy home, where she ran an unlicensed daycare. Van Hoof has pleaded not guilty."
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "As the Star has previously reported, Strathroy police, and then the Ontario Provincial Police, zeroed in on his parents — Van De Wiele and Kent McLellan — as being responsible. Following publication of a Star investigation of the case, the OPP charged Van Hoof. Court also heard from a forensic officer who examined both Nathaniel’s home and the babysitter’s home, and found nothing that would explain his traumatic head injury."
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STORY: "Babysitter was ‘surprised’ to learn Nathaniel McLellan seriously injured, trial hears," by Chief Investigative Reporter Kevin Donovan, published by The Toronto Star, on February 9, 2026. (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: "Police officer testifies that the woman charged with manslaughter in toddler’s death thought he had an “illness.”
GIST: "Toddler Nathaniel McLellan’s babysitter appeared “surprised” to learn that the 15-month old boy she had been caring for was severely injured, a police detective told a London manslaughter trial.
Meggin Van Hoof “was very surprised that the injuries were as serious as I described,” Strathroy-Caradoc Sgt. Chris Haskett told court on Monday. Van Hoof thought that Nathaniel had “an illness.” Court has heard Nathaniel had a nine-centimetre injury to his skull.
Van Hoof is facing a charge of manslaughter in the now 10-year-old case. The prosecution alleges that Van Hoof either caused the child’s death with some overt action on the day she was caring for Nathaniel, or that she failed to assist him (including calling 911) when he collapsed at her Strathroy home, where she ran an unlicensed daycare. Van Hoof has pleaded not guilty.
Court earlier heard that Nathaniel became unconscious at Van Hoof’s home on the morning of Oct. 27, 2015. Van Hoof took Nathaniel down the street to meet his mother, Rose-Anne Van De Wiele, a teacher at the local school. Van De Wiele testified her son was stiff and unresponsive when Van Hoof handed him over. She rushed him to hospital. Nathaniel died several days later of a massive head injury.
Several hours after Nathaniel was hospitalized, Haskett was assigned the case. Court heard he drove to Van Hoof’s home in the late afternoon. He spoke to Van Hoof’s husband, Brian, and then Meggin. Haskett told court Monday that he could not recall exactly what he told them. Crown attorney Meredith Gardiner noted that in pre-trial testimony a year ago, Haskett testified that Meggin told him she thought Nathaniel had an “illness,” and that he specifically told her husband that Nathaniel had a head injury.
Haskett testified Monday that Van Hoof was “surprised” that the little boy was in serious condition.
As the Star has previously reported, Strathroy police, and then the Ontario Provincial Police, zeroed in on his parents — Van De Wiele and Kent McLellan — as being responsible. Following publication of a Star investigation of the case, the OPP charged Van Hoof.
Court also heard from a forensic officer who examined both Nathaniel’s home and the babysitter’s home, and found nothing that would explain his traumatic head injury.
At both properties, court heard the focus was stairs. That’s because someone at the local hospital that first treated Nathaniel noted on paperwork that it was believed the 15-month-old fell down a flight of stairs.
An investigative team composed of Strathroy-Caradoc and Ontario Provincial Police officers worked the case. Search warrants were obtained for both homes.
Detectives found no forensic evidence — blood, saliva or other “biological” matter — at either scene, OPP crime scene investigator David Bates told court.
Det.-Const. Bates recalled visiting both homes. At the babysitter’s home, he used a “forensic light” to examine a flight of 10 stairs, broken up by a landing, that led to the basement playroom where Van Hoof looked after children. Court was shown photographs taken by Bates. The stairs are carpeted — the first flight of six stairs ends at a landing, and then four stairs lead to the floor of the playroom.
Bates said he did notice a part of a wall on the main floor where a seven-centimetre section of drywall had been knocked in. He also went to the backyard and discovered two play structures, but court did not hear that any forensic examination was done on them.
Police also went to the Parkhill home of Rose-Anne, Kent and their four sons. Bates could not recall which member of the investigative team told him to look specifically at certain areas of the home, but he paid particular attention to a set of seven stairs that led from the main floor to the unfinished basement. Van De Wiele has testified that the family always kept the door closed.
The stairs in question are wooden, and lead to a concrete floor. Court heard the home is an older, rural house with an unfinished basement. Bates examined the stairs using the same “forensic light” and found nothing. He also found no evidence that the dusty stairs and floor had been disturbed (cleaned) in recent days.
The trial before Judge Michael Carnegie continues. Testimony will be heard this week and next, then due to scheduling reasons will take a break until April 15."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.thestar.com/users/profile/kevin-donovan/
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 AMFINAL 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;
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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