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Calgary man convicted

A Calgary man who was found guilty along with his wife of murder in the death of their diabetic teenage son has joined her in filing an appeal of his conviction.

Emil and Rodica Radita of Calgary were convicted of first-degree murder last month in the death of their 15-year-old son Alexandru.

Justice Karen Horner of Court of Queen's Bench heard the trial without a jury and was told the boy was so neglected, he weighed just 37 pounds when he died in 2013 of complications from untreated diabetes and starvation.

Horner sentenced the parents to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Earlier this week, Rodica Radita filed an appeal notice and on Friday, her husband did the same.

Rodica asserted in her appeal that the judge showed bias by crying during the trial.

"I am not guilty of murdering my son and the judge finding that I am shows that she did not look at all of the evidence," she said in a handwritten from that shows her address as the federal women's prison in Edmonton.

When Horner handed down her verdict, she said the couple was in gross denial of Alexandru's disease.

"Children in Canada rarely die from diabetes, but proper treatment requires due diligence,'' the judge said.

Horner said it appeared that Alexandru had not received proper care for years, even though the Raditas were fully trained on how to look after him.



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