Inquest to Hear from Ministry of Children and Families Workers

By 250 News

       Prince George, B.C. -  The Coroner’s inquest into the death of Savannah Hall will  continue today  and will hear from the Ministry of Children and Families workers who dealt with her.

Savannah  was three years old and in the care of a Prince George foster home when she lost consciousness and was  rushed to Prince George Hospital in January of 2001.  She was  then  sent to Childrens Hospital in  Vancouver, where she died two  days later.

On the first day of the inquest,  Minstry of Children and Families Peter Cunningham, who was the  Community Services Manager  at the time, admitted he failed to  follow up on some  reports of concerns about the  foster home where Savannah was living.  Cunningham also  noted  the Ministry of Children and Families office in Prince George was  facing staffing challenges at the time.

The pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Savannah said the child had numerous bruises, some  which  he could not explain, like bruising  on the scalp near the ears,   behind her leg, and on the sole of  one foot.  Dr. Glenn Taylor also testified Savannah died of  swelling  on her brain, but what caused the injury  to lead to the swelling  was not so clear.  At first he had  written down that  Savannah  was suffering from myocarditis, an inflammation of  heart muscle which can cause  arythmia, leading to reduced flows of oxygen to the brain, resulting in  brain injury and swelling.   His  autopsy could not find any phsycial evidence to support a shaking death,  nor  could he find any physical evidence to support  smothering.

He then testified that after receiving information that Savannah’s foster home was under investigation for  abuse and neglect,  he revised his conclusion to say that while she died of swelling on the brain,  the cause of the swelling was "undetermined." 

The inquest  is expected to  take two weeks to complete and will call  another 32 witnesses.

There are several lawyers involved,   the Coroner’s Counsel,  a lawyer for the  Crown in B.C.,  Lawyer for  Patricia Keen ( foster mother) , Lawyer for  Richard King ( Ministry of Children and Families), Lawyer for the Attorney General of Canada and  there is a Lawyer for Corinna Hall (Savannah’s birth other).

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