CALGARY — Photos of a gaunt, frail-looking teen taken at his 15th birthday party — just months before he died — have been released to the media at the trial of the boy's parents, who are charged with first-degree murder.
The trial has been told that Alexandru Radita weighed less than 37 pounds when he died in May 2013.
His parents, Emil Radita, 59, and Rodica Radita, 53, were arrested and charged 10 months later.
An autopsy determined that the teen died from complications due to untreated diabetes and starvation.
Court has been told Alexandru was covered in sores and was wearing a diaper at the time of his death.
Pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Daniele Pacaud took the witness stand for the second day on Thursday, saying the boy's death was "premature and preventable."
The doctor testified that the memory on two electronic diabetic test meters found in the home showed they were only used about once a month, adding that diabetics normally use the metres about four times a day.
She said the family didn't buy any insulin in the six months before the teen's death, explaining he would have required several doses each day to manage his condition.
Pacaud described a number of bed sores that were found on Alexandru's body as significant and said that they required antibiotics and that she would have recommended surgery in some cases.
The boy was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of three when the family was living in British Columbia.
Court was told it's believed he did not see a doctor after the family moved to Alberta in 2009.
