An Alberta judge is looking for answers in the case of a 15-year-old boy who died in his Calgary home weighing less than 37 kilograms. Alexandru Radita died in May 2013 from bacterial sepsis caused by complications from untreated diabetes and starvation. His parents, who had moved from BC to Alberta, were found guilty in 2017 of first-degree murder. Witnesses at trial testified that the Raditas refused to accept that their son had diabetes, failed to treat his illness and kept him isolated at home. Alberta Provincial Court Judge Sharon Van de Veen said Monday the inquest into the death will seek to find out what could have been done to save the boy’s life and prevent other cases like this from happening again. “There were government officials involved throughout this child’s life, including child and family services in the province of British Columbia and doctors and pharmacists,” Van de Veen said. “I will not review the facts surrounding the horror of this child’s life. My purpose will be to review to what extent the state itself could have intervened in this child’s life to save his life.” Van de Veen said the inquiry, which is scheduled to take place throughout the week, will look at whether protocols between the Alberta and B.C. children’s services ministries would help in similar cases. He also wondered if a pharmacists’ association could provide help when insulin is made sporadically for patients. The first day of the investigation focused on whether Alex’s lack of attendance at his school could have alerted officials. He was enrolled in a Catholic homeschooling program in September 2009 for 5th grade, but not a single project was submitted by him. Throughout the school year, teachers and a principal tried to contact his parents via phone calls and letters, but were unable to reach them. Michel Despins, vice director of the online school School of Hope, said 25 attempts were made to reach Raditas. Neither Alex nor his three brothers ever submitted schoolwork. Despin said there are now electronic records for every student, but any information about a student who is not enrolled is only available in Alberta. Despins offered some possible solutions, including having a previous school board receive notification if a student is no longer enrolled anywhere. He said there should be a protocol for what to do if this happens and parents cannot be contacted. “If in September we get a notification and we contact the parents and they enroll somewhere else, no problem. But if they don’t, what does that have to do with standard protocol?’ asked. “Are you submitting it to social services?” Van de Veen said the inquest will only hear from witnesses from Alberta, even though there were orders of protection for Alex in B.C. Emil Radita, Alex’s father, watches the proceedings from prison in BC This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 19, 2022.
