MOTHER ACQUITTED IN TOT'S DEATH

Jury clears woman in 10-month-old boy's codeine overdose

A woman burst into tears and collapsed into a friend's arms late last night
after a jury acquitted her in the death of her 10-month-old son, who died of
a codeine overdose.

"Now he can rest in peace. We can stop bringing up his name. Rest in peace,"
Natasha Sanderson said of her son Khaleel, who died Feb. 27, 1998, as he
headed home on a bus with his mother and her roommate. After the jury
deliberated for nearly 10 hours, they delivered a verdict - not guilty of
criminal negligence causing death - prompting tears from Sanderson, who
later sagged into the arms of her friend and teacher Sue Goodman, who has
stayed with her throughout the ordeal.

"Thank God I have my life back," Sanderson said.

Goodman said the best part is that Sanderson can now "go to bed without a
cloud over her head."

Crown prosecutor Margo MacKinnon, who was assisted by prosecutor Henry Poon,
left right after the verdict was delivered.

MacKinnon had alleged that Sanderson, who had a prescription for codeine
after having her tonsils out, gave Khaleel the drug to soothe his pain
during a bout of bronchitis and unwittingly killed him.

Sanderson was arrested and charged on April 19, 1999, more than a year after
Khaleel died of the overdose. The baby was cared for in a special program at
Sanderson's school, which allowed her to bring him in for day care while she
pursued her high school diploma.

She was originally charged with second-degree murder, but the charges were
lowered, first to manslaughter, and again to criminal negligence before her
trial began last month.

Sanderson's lawyer, Barry Swadron, said he was relieved the long ordeal was
finally over. But he had some biting words for the police investigation. "We
were always of the view the police investigation wasn't full enough and had
it been full enough she wouldn't have been charged," said Swadron.

When Sanderson took the stand, she repeatedly denied that she administered
any codeine to her son. Jurors heard that when he stopped breathing,
Sanderson and her roommate ran frantically off the bus and to a doughnut
shop, seeking assistance. Paramedics and firefighters arrived soon
afterward.

Police initially didn't suspect anything criminal in the case. But charges
were laid 10 months after a toxicological screen confirmed the infant died
from a lethal level of codeine in his bloodstream.

Jurors were told the pure liquid codeine Sanderson got as a painkiller 22
days before Khaleel died is available only by prescription.

Sanderson testified that she believed she finished the contents of the
codeine bottle. She said she couldn't recall the exact day she did so, but
estimated it was about two weeks after she obtained it.

She said she assumed she threw the codeine bottle into the garbage, but
couldn't remember actually doing so.

Her memory was also unclear about the day the youngster died.

For instance, she was uncertain about the number of bottles she packed that
morning, saying she usually packed two - one for milk, the other for juice.
Police found only one bottle in Sanderson's bag at the hospital where
Khaleel was pronounced dead.

She also couldn't recall her exact whereabouts for much of the day that
Khaleel died. She said she had blocked out most of that day because the
memories were too painful.

According to MacKinnon's theory about her motive, Sanderson was under the
gun to get her high school credits and her little boy was sick, so she gave
him a little bit of codeine to make him feel better. The crown theorized
that Sanderson didn't realize the disastrous effect a small quantity of the
drug would have on Khaleel.

Sanderson was ignorant about medication dosages and side effects, MacKinnon
argued.

But Swadron brought forward evidence to show that Sanderson was cautious
with her son, in fact overly so.

The jurors heard about repeated trips she made with him to doctors and the
hospital for relatively minor ailments.

Teachers from her school had nothing but praise in court for Sanderson's
parenting skills and her concern for Khaleel.