Closing arguments of Baldwin inquest start today

Boy, 5, died in 2002 under the care of his grandmother

Closing arguments are being made today at the inquest into the death of Jeffrey Baldwin who starved to death in 2002.

The boy was under the care of his grandmother, Elva Bottineau, and her partner, Norman Kidman, both now serving life sentences for the second-degree murder.

Baldwin, who was 5, weighed as much as he had on his first birthday and could not lift his own head.

Experts told the inquest Baldwin had resembled a child from a third-world-nation.

The inquest is only taking place now, 11 years after Baldwin’s death, as Bottineau had exhausted all of her appeals.

Baldwin was taken away from his parents by children’s aid and placed in the care of the grandparents before the previous convictions of child abuse by Bottineau and Kidman were discovered in the files of The Catholic Children’s Aid Society.

Many changes have been implemented within the CCAS, including better record-keeping systems, but a manager told the inquest that holes still exist.

The inquest is looking into issues within the system that caused Baldwin’s death.

About this article

By: Geremy Bordonaro
Copy editor: Alexander Broad
Posted: Feb 4 2014 9:17 am
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Filed under: News