Particle.news
Download on the App Store
3 ARTICLES
·
3h ago

Mother's Push for Charges Probed at Ontario Toddler Manslaughter Trial

She testified about perceived ties between the accused and Strathroy-Caradoc police that she says eroded her trust in the investigation.

Rose-Anne Van de Wiele leaves court on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025. She was testifying in the manslaughter case against Meggin Van Hoof, who has pleaded not guilty in the death of Van de Wiele’s son, 15-month-old Nathaniel McLellan. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)
Meggin Van Hoof leaves court on Monday, September 22, 2025. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)

Overview

  • Defence lawyer Geoff Snow cross-examined Rose-Anne Van de Wiele about emails urging police to charge daycare provider Meggin Van Hoof after 15-month-old Nathaniel McLellan died of a head injury in 2015.
  • Van Hoof, 46, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, and the judge-alone proceeding is before Superior Court Justice Michael Carnegie.
  • Van de Wiele told the court she initially believed the death was accidental but later pressed for accountability, citing the absence of a 911 call and what she viewed as shifting accounts.
  • She described compiling social media and community information in 2017 about possible connections between Strathroy-Caradoc police employees and the Van Hoof family after an OPP liaison suggested she gather any information.
  • Court heard that Van Hoof spoke with police twice on Oct. 27, 2015 and consented to a cellphone search but declined a polygraph, and that charges were not laid until June 2021.