By Sarah Stone

Father of toddler who died in foster care may file suit

Feb 4, 2013 | 3:59 PM

Eunice Wudrich was found not guilty of criminal negligence causing death, on Friday, in connection to the death of Evander Lee Daniels, her 22-month-old foster child.

Evander drowned in a bathtub after Wudrich left him in two inches of lukewarm water on June 8, 2010.

Although Justice Neil Gabrielson ruled the Crown did not prove Wudrich knew there was a risk of bodily harm, Evander’s biological father Chris Martell is not satisfied.

“I’m still in shock; it’s hard to set that in. No words can I explain how I feel, I’m just in shock,” Martell said, who added sitting through the trial was more difficult then he thought.

“It was a horrible experience. I wanted to know what happened to my son and I waited two and half years and there were no answers back from the government or nobody would tell me what happened. What I would know was what I heard from the media and what I read online and when I went into court I didn’t expect to hear those gruesome details.”

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Martell said as a Christian he forgives Wudrich for what happened, but he feels in this case justice wasn’t served.

“I’m going to speak to a lawyer and probably do a civil suit,” he said.

In the past, Martell has spoken out against the state of the foster care system, but said the members of the public have responded harshly towards him.

“I got some public backlash like I got some threats and they vandalized Evander’s grave and they hacked my account and a lot of crazy stuff happened in the past little while and it’s causing me to be more depressed,” he said.

Martell said Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth Bob Pringle contacted him to help with the case and make sure it this doesn’t happen to another child.

“I spoke to him numerous times and he’s going to do his own investigation of what happened and recommend some changes,” Martell said.

One of Martell’s main concerns is the lack of
communication from the government. He said he’s tried to contact them multiple times and has yet to hear a word, which is where he hopes Pringle will help.

“[The government] never replied to me, phoned me, nothing. The government is just keeping quiet.”

sstone@panow.com

On Twitter: @sarahstone84