MACHIAS, Maine — The father on trial for manslaughter in connection with the death of his 12-year-old diabetic son testified Thursday that he “would have dragged him to the hospital whether he liked it or if not” if he’d understood the child was suffering from anything more than a stomach flu.
Edward Smith, who took the stand on the fourth day of his jury-waived trial in Washington County Superior Court, said that he made a mistake in not seeking medical care for Aloric Smith. He told Superior Court Justice Robert Murray that the boy had vomited and had suffered the symptoms of a “stomach bug” before and recovered.
Smith said that his son vomited the morning of Monday, April 2, 2012, and stayed home from school. The father testified that he called the doctor’s office to make an appointment but canceled it the next day because he seemed better and was keeping food down. Smith also testified that he was checking the boy’s glucose levels and they seemed within the normal range.
Those readings were not recovered from the boy’s glucose meter, according to previous testimony. Just one reading of 363 — considered to be high — taken Tuesday night was found. Smith said he gave the boy insulin after that reading.
Smith maintained that the meter was defective. Testimony earlier in the week from an engineer who works for the California firm that makes the meter and a physician’s assistant at the Diabetes, Endocrine and Nutrition Center at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, where Aloric Smith was a patient, disputed that claim.
Jean-Pierre of Abbott Laboratories of Alameda, California, and Corey Webb, the physician’s assistant at the diabetic clinic, both said that if the glucose tests had been taken, they would have registered on the meter. Neither theorized on why or how the meter might have malfunctioned. Both said that they had not had other clients or patients with a similar complaint about the meter Aloric Smith was using.
While on the stand Thursday, Smith only showed emotion when he spoke about the morning of Wednesday, April 4, 2012, when he found his son dead in his bed. Smith testified that he unsuccessfully tried to revive the boy before calling 911.
Under redirect examination, Smith said that his son showed none of the symptoms — staggering as if drunk or slurring his words — that he exhibited when he was first diagnosed with diabetes in October 2009. Smith testified that when he first met with staff at the diabetic clinic he was told to seek medical attention for the boy if he had a combination of symptoms that included vomiting and difficulty breathing, not if he just had one symptom.
The 44-year-old former Lubec man is charged with manslaughter, aggravated furnishing of a scheduled drug and endangering the welfare of a child, because he allegedly gave his son drugs not prescribed for him.
Aloric Smith died of diabetic ketoacidosis, Dr. Margaret Greenwald, the retired medical examiner who performed the autopsy, testified Tuesday. Acute gastritis was a contributing factor in the boy’s death, she said.
Diabetic ketoacidosis occurs when a person with diabetes becomes dehydrated, according to the website Emedicinehealth.com. The condition results in the body consuming its muscle, fat and liver cells for fuel. Common causes for the condition are infections that include diarrhea and vomiting.
The judge took the case under advisement about 4 p.m. Thursday following closing arguments. Murray did not say when he would issue his decision.
At issue in the case is whether Smith was reckless or criminally negligent in failing to seek treatment for his diabetic son, Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin said in her closing statement.
“Under Maine law, he has an affirmative duty to aid and protect his minor child,” she said. “His actions in this case were a gross deviation from what a reasonable and prudent parent would do.”
Smith is the first person in Maine to be charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of his or her child, defense attorney Jeffrey Davidson of Machias said in his closing statement. Other parents have faced the misdemeanor charge of endangering the welfare of a child, including a mother whose child was attacked and killed by the family dog.
“What he saw Tuesday night did not match what he’d seen in October 2009 as a diabetic incident,” he said. “He made a mistake. Another person may have made the same mistake.”
Smith has been held since his arrest in October 2013 in Rogersville, Missouri, at the Washington County Jail, unable to post $5,000 cash or a $50,000 surety bail.
If convicted of manslaughter, Smith faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $5,000 if convicted on the drug charge and a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000 on the endangering charge.
BDN writer Tim Cox contributed to this report.