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Manslaughter Trial of Strathroy Babysitter Meggin Van Hoof Opens in London Court

Prosecutors allege she failed to call 911 during the toddler’s medical distress.

Meggin Van Hoof, 46, of Strathroy has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in the death of 15-month-old Nathaniel McLellan, who died of a brain injury on Oct. 31, 2015. Van Hoof was the toddler’s daycare provider. (Jane Sims/The London Free Press)
Nathaniel McLellan.

Overview

  • Van Hoof, 46, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in the 2015 death of 15-month-old Nathaniel McLellan.
  • The case is being tried judge-alone before Superior Court Justice Michael Carnegie after a switch from a planned jury trial earlier this year.
  • Evidentiary disputes consumed much of the first week, delaying full testimony in the four-week proceeding.
  • Nathaniel’s mother, Rose-Anne Van De Wiele, began testifying late Thursday and is expected to continue Friday as the first Crown witness.
  • Prosecutors plan to call multiple medical and brain-injury experts, with the case centering on the child’s severe head trauma diagnosed after he left an unlicensed home daycare and died five days later.