” I would have admitted him to hospital, put him on intravenous, ordered a bone scan test for physical abuse, and informed the Children’s Aid Society,” testified Dr. Kunmar Singh, the pediatrician for the now deceased toddler Ryker Daponte-Michaud.
Singh was referring to the third degree burns from a spilled coffee, that were found on almost one quarter of the child’s body when he was found dead in his Strathroy home in May of 2014.
The last time Dr. Singh saw Ryker was in March 2014, 2 months before his death. He was shown a photo of Ryker’s burns, and said that in his 45 years of experience he had never seen burns to that extent.
Ryker’s mom, 30 year old Amanda Dumont and her boyfriend at the time, 27 year-old Scott Bakker are on trial and charged with criminal negligence causing death and separate counts of failing to provide the necessaries of life.
Dr. Michael Shkrum, a pathologist, and the man who performed the autopsy on the toddler said he died from dehydration and ketoacidosis.
Ryker was found with sunken in eyes, and fluid loss on his skin which are tell-tale signs of severe dehydration. Ketoacidosis on the other hand, is a stress response from the body to the severe burns. The response would have altered the metabolism of his glucose, protein and fat, making Ryker’s blood highly acidic. This would then result in the body’s cells failing to function properly, which ultimately lead to the 20 month old’s death.
The trial resumes on Monday, as Dr. Shkrum will continue his testimony.
