Worker Testifies Keenes Treated Savannah Hall Like Member Of Their Family

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C. - An employee of the Ministry of Children and Family Development  has told a Coroner's Jury in Prince George  about one meeting with the natural mother of  Savannah Hall.   

Anita Basset says  she and her team leader Scott Horvath, went to a bar in the city to talk to Corinna Hall, Savannah's natural mother.  "She hadn’t been attending parenting classes and we went to see what she was doing" Bassett testified. "She was playing pool, at the table she was sitting at were four glasses of beer and I asked her if she was drinking. She said no I’ve been drinking pop."

Basset  testified Corinna didn't  seem   too interested in what they had to say "When we advised her that we were going to pick up her daughter Savannah, she didn’t respond, she just went back to playing pool."

Basset  says  she and Horvath then went to find the child "We went to a residence and after knocking on one door heard a child crying and when we knocked on that door we discovered Savannah. The people looking after her said that Corinna Hall had phoned and said don’t give up my kid. "

The child she said had severe diaper rash, she was very dirty and stunk .

On September 29^th, 1999 the child was placed in foster care at the Keene’s home. "The Keene’s said that she was having night care problems, but it was my observation that Pat Keene treated the young girl like she was the natural mother. I made 18 visits to the Keene home during the time that Savannah was under my supervision and I can say that the Keene’s treated her like a member of their family."

Bassett also told the Inquest of her difficulties in trying to get Savannah in to specialists and other facilities to assist her; she said she did not have much success.

Candis Johnson of the Child Development Center told how she worked with Savannah as an early childhood educator.

She said Savannah had temper tantrums, some lasting as long as 20 minutes in which she threw herself on the ground, beat the floor with her fists, tossed her coat around and kicked the walls.  Johnson said as the youngster attended more classes she became more social, but she never seemed to be able to coordinate herself well. "She was stiff when she walked and had a habit of falling down."  She was prone to falling Johnson said, "she had difficulty in motor planning, you know like going up and down stairs."

She also spoke about Savannah having trouble at age three to keep up with the norm. "She definitely was not at a three year old level of speech" said  Johnson.

Savannah  was in a coma when  she was rushed to  Prince George Regional Hospital in January of 2001.  Although the attending paediatrician thought Savannah was brain dead, the  three year old was sent to Children's Hospital in Vancouver where she died two days later.  The Inquest  is underway to determine how Savannah died.  The  inquest cannot lay blame, but  is expected to make recommendations to prevent such a death from happening in the future.

The inquest continues today.

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