'Profound failure of care' led to death of Winnipeg infant who had meth in bloodstream, prosecutor argues

A prosecutor says a constellation of events in a Winnipeg home that included unsafe sleeping conditions, rampant drug use and the parents' tumultuous relationship shows a "profound failure of care" in the weeks leading up to the death of a three-month-old in 2022.

Alison Muise, 42, is charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life. Her unresponsive baby, Layla Mattern-Muise, was rushed to hospital and died in February 2022.

Muise's judge-alone trial before Manitoba provincial court Judge Michelle Bright began in September, with closing arguments given Wednesday.

A Winnipeg police officer testified in September that Muise's home wasn't safe for children, telling court there was garbage and drug paraphernalia scattered around the home, and a window was left open on a frigid February day.

David Schindel, who lived in the basement, painted a picture of chaos, violence and frequent drug use in the home before the infant's death.

Muise's father, Lou Muise, admitted in court last month that his granddaughter was not safe in the home, after being shown images from the scene that were submitted to court, including one that showed meth pipes inside a bedroom drawer.

During closing arguments, defence lawyer Tom Rees argued the police officer's description of Muise's home does not mean a crime was committed there. He also painted Schindel's testimony as flawed because of the impacts of meth consumption on memory.

Rees pointed out that Schindel testified the home's windows would be opened to air out cigarette and meth smoke. Rees argued that evidence finding meth on three of the baby's bottles did not include the quantity or concentration of the drug, and did not mention where the drug was found on the bottle.

"Is it a poisonous amount? We don't know. Did she consume it? We don't know," he said.

Rees said the "chaos and the mess" inside the home on the day the baby died was partly due to the fact that some of the bedrooms were being swapped. He also said Muise "tossed" one room to look for a cellphone to call 911, and the home was further altered by emergency personnel.

Rees said there's a difference between a home that is "untidy" and one that is "unclean," adding there was no documented evidence to show that urine, feces, rotting food, mould or animal or insect waste were present in the home on the day of the baby's death.

The baby's father, Christopher Mattern, previously pleaded guilty to the same charge Muise faces and was sentenced in August to 21 months of time served, plus two years of probation.

'Evidence still falls short'

Mattern admitted in his court proceedings that a toxicology report found meth in the baby's bloodstream, but the report was not included in Muise's case, prosecutors told CBC News. Judge Bright called it "hearsay" as prosecutors and the defence could not agree on the evidence in Muise's case.

Court previously heard that Muise tested positive for meth twice following the baby's death, but Rees said Wednesday she maintains she has never intentionally ingested the drug.

Rees argued the Crown failed to prove Muise's actions deviated from that of a reasonable person, and said she was a vulnerable victim of domestic abuse at the time of the baby's death.

"Even if you do not believe Ms. Muise, we say the evidence still falls short."

Crown prosecutor Alanna Littman told the judge that Schindel is a former but "seasoned" meth user but a "blunt" and reliable witness.

Schindel's descriptions of the "regular, routine and rampant" drug use taking place inside the home, particularly by Muise, matched physical evidence that showed drug use was happening on all three levels of the home, Littman said.

'Risk is undeniable'

Another Winnipeg police officer who previously testified said images of Muise's home on the day of the baby's death have since been used at a police academy as an example to show future officers when they "ought to apprehend a child for safety," Littman said.

Although there was no direct evidence to show that the baby was exposed to meth, Littman said any level of exposure is unsafe.

"When you have methamphetamine on a baby bottle … the risk is undeniable."

The baby was born with a collapsed lung, and had slept under a cluster of blankets near an open window in the "coldest winter months" of her short life just before she died, Littman said.

That — on top of Muise's and Mattern's tumultuous and toxic relationship and drug users constantly moving in and out of the house — represent a "constellation of events" that unfolded in at least six weeks before the baby's death, Littman said.

"Together with a baby bottle with meth, that makes out the offence," she said.

Judge Bright reserved her decision until early February.