Hamilton police have charged a woman with manslaughter in connection with the death of her four-year-old son back in September, 2017.
Police say that they responded to a residence on Idelwood Drive on the morning of Sept. 27, 2017 after receiving a 911 call about an unresponsive child.
They say that officers and paramedics arrived “within minutes,” at which point they found four-year-old Kane Driscoll “obviously deceased.”
As per police policy, the investigation into the death was assigned to the Major Crime Unit since it involved a child under the age of five.
Police say that the subsequent investigation initially uncovered no signs of foul play.
Furthermore, police say that Kane’s parents were “cooperative” with the investigation at first.
Police say that investigators learned that Kane was born with numerous medical issues which led to several major operations and many months of hospitalization. The child, however, had recently started junior kindergarten and by all accounts had overcome “the worst of his challenges,” police say.
After a post-mortem was conducted on Kane and no cause of death could be determined, toxicology tests were ordered.
Police received the results of those toxicology tests in December, 2017 and learned that there was a lethal dose of drugs in Kane’s system. Following that determination, police say that investigators classified the death as a homicide but for “strategic and investigative purposes” opted not to share that news with the public.
In February of 2018, police say that investigators notified Kane’s parents of the cause of death and advised them that they were being considered as suspects.
That revelation prompted both of Kane’s parents to seek legal advice and cease cooperating with the investigation, police say.
Police say that investigators eventually found “reasonable grounds” to charge Kane’s mother with manslaughter.
However, after learning that Kane’s mother was pregnant, police say that they decided to notify the Hamilton Children’s Aid Society, which decided to apprehend her newborn baby.
The CAS took the step of notifying area hospitals so it could be alerted when the baby was delivered but in October it was determined that Kane’s mother had travelled to Newfoundland and delivered the baby there.
On Wednesday, members from the Hamilton Police Major Crime Unit travelled to Bonavista, Newfoundland where they arrested 39-year-old Lisa Strickland for manslaughter in the death of Kane Driscoll.
Police say that the newborn that Strickland gave birth to in Newfoundland was apprehended by the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development in Newfoundland.
Strickland was returned to Ontario on Thursday and appeared in court in Hamilton earlier this morning, where she was remanded into custody.
