A toddler, who was beaten to death by his mother, would comfort his loved ones when they visited him in the hospital in the months before he died, family members revealed.
Oliver McCarthy, 22 months old, was found dead on the living room floor of his Ontario, Canada, home on January 15, 2020.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers reported there were signs rigor mortis had already set in by the time they arrived on scene, reported CTV News.
An autopsy report determined the toddler died from blunt force trauma and a perforated bowel, noting there were other injuries to his bowl that indicated previous trauma.
While the boy’s mother, Nadine Melvaer, and her boyfriend, Tyler Campbell, have been convicted for his death, McCarthy’s family said there was a history of abuse that officials let slip through the cracks.
In November 2019, the child was taken to the North Bay Regional Health Centre and then to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa for bruises on his body, according to court documents obtained by CTV News.
The toddler’s aunt told the news outlet that when she visited the boy in the hospital he would actually try to comfort her.
‘We went to visit him and he would take my hair and he just like kept brushing the side of my face like this with it,’ Jen McCarthy said.
Oliver McCarthy, 22 months, was found dead on the living room floor of his Ontario, Canada , home on January 15, 2020
The boy’s mother, Nadine Melvaer (pictured), and her boyfriend, Tyler Campbell, have been convicted for his death
The Children’s Aid Society (CAS) Nipissing reportedly opened a child abuse investigation when doctors informed them that McCarthy had suffered two fractured ribs consistent with blunt force trauma or squeezing.
While authorities were finalizing their investigation, they allowed they boy to live with his mother and maternal grandparents, as long as he did not have any contact with Melvaer’s boyfriend.
However, the McCarthy family said the CAS knew the agreement was not being followed but did not notify police.
‘In the joint submission, it was noted by two separate workers that Oliver was not well and they just left him there,’ Jen McCarthy said.
CAS told CTV News that is cannot comment on specific cases but called the death of a child ‘an immeasurable tragedy.’
‘We recognize the gravity of this loss and its impact on all involved. Due to a legal obligation around confidentiality, the Society is not in a position to comment at this time,’ said CAS executive director Nancy Lafrance Rich.
Melvaer and Campbell were arrested in spring 2021 for their roles in his death, and in April of this year both pleaded guilty.
Melvaer was sentenced to six and a half years for manslaughter and Campbell is serving three years less time served, followed by three years’ probation for the charge of failing to provide necessaries of life.
McCarthy’s family said there was a history of abuse that officials let slip through the cracks
The Children’s Aid Society (CAS) Nipissing reportedly opened a child abuse case after the boy was taken to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (pictured) for bruises on his body
The boy’s maternal grandparents have also been charged with failing to provide necessaries of life and have a court date scheduled for December 13.
‘For something that might feel like a little bit of closure and accountability, that didn’t come,’ Jen McCarthy said.
‘At the end of the day, by the time we’ve spent, it’s been almost five years now since Oliver passed away.’
