Trial in death of toddler Nathaniel McLellan set for 2025 following delays

A decade after the death of 15 month old Parkhill, Ont., toddler Nathaniel McLellan, the long delayed manslaughter trial will be held in London. The accused is Meggin Van Hoof, who was looking after Nathaniel in her home daycare the day he was rushed to hospital. "While we are disappointed with further delays in obtaining justice for Nathaniel, we respect the administration of justice and the legal process," said Rose Anne McLellan, Nathaniel's mother.

Van Hoof, 42, of Strathroy, Ont., was charged in 2021 with one count of manslaughter following a . Originally, the OPP and Strathroy police had pursued the theory that Nathaniel's parents caused his death. The case was also the focus of , a Toronto Star podcast that featured interviews with numerous people connected to the story.

Court heard Thursday that Geoff Snow, Van Hoof's new lawyer, will be challenging issues of "publicity" related to the Star's podcast and other media coverage. Snow's challenges regarding publicity, along with issues regarding the "admissibility" of Van Hoof's statements to police and a Children's Aid Society investigator, will be heard over 10 days in a series of pretrial motions.

Those will take place beginning May 20, 2025. The trial — Van Hoof has selected judge and jury — is scheduled for four weeks beginning Sept. 8, 2025. No details of Snow's upcoming challenges were provided. The Star has previously reported that Nathaniel died in a London hospital in October 2015, several days after he was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries.

Rose Anne, a teacher, had dropped Nathaniel off at the home daycare earlier that morning. As the Star reported, she got a call saying that Nathaniel was not well and to pick him up. As Rose Anne drove to the home daycare she saw Meggin Van Hoof carrying Nathaniel. Rose Anne recalls her son's body was so stiff it was not possible to get him into the car seat in her vehicle.

She rushed him to Strathroy hospital, which transferred Nathaniel to a London hospital, where he died a few days later. Van Hoof has changed lawyers several times over the past three years, which has delayed a trial date being set. There were also delays in the prosecution providing disclosure in the first year after Van Hoof was charged.

Court heard Thursday that Snow, Van Hoof's new lawyer, will also challenge the expert opinions the crown will be providing evidence from. Rulings from a judge following these challenges next spring could affect the evidence that the prosecution can provide at trial. As to challenges related to the podcast and media coverage, this type of challenge has been raised in other cases and the solution has been to move the case to a jurisdiction with less exposure to the case so that an impartial jury can be selected.

Snow was hired by Van Hoof last September after her previous lawyer, Jenny Prosser, left the case due to a "breakdown" in the lawyer client relationship. Van Hoof had a previous lawyer on the case, who was replaced by Prosser. The Star has reached out to Snow with questions about the case and has not heard back..