Alex Radita so emaciated he was 'off the charts,' murder trial hears

AlexRaditawas so emaciated thathis bodywas unableto fight a fatal infection,according to the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on the starved boy and placed him in less than the 0.1percentile for15-year-olds based on his weight and height.

• 'Alex was failed on so many levels,' says teen's heartbroken teacher at parents' murder trial

"[That] doesn't put him anywhere near oron the chart," Dr. JefferyGofmantestified Thursday. "It's off the chart."

Alex's parents,Rodicaand EmilRadita,are charged with first-degree murder in connection with the teen'sdeath inMay 2013.

One by one,Gofmanclinically described the 44 wounds that covered the four-foot-three-inchteen's37-pound emaciated body from the bridge of his noseto the bottom of his feet.

Died of bacterial sepsis

One toe was gangrenous. One of the wounds on his neck was blackand so deep, his salivarygland wasexposed and the necktissues were "near liquefaction."

It wasthis wound that"most likely" allowedbacteria into the teen's bloodstream,Gofmansays.

The frail, ill boy's body would not have been in the physical condition to be able to fight infection, according toGofman.

"It would be overwhelming for him," he said.

Gofmanconcluded that Alex died of bacterial sepsisbacteria thatinfected the blood brought on by complications from neglect and starvation.

Alex was also suffering from kidney infection at the time of his death,Gofmantestified.

Gastrointestinal areas of Alex's body that would normally be filled with fat were completely devoid of it.

"To me that suggests a real circumstance of starvation," saidGofman.

No insulin or painmedsfound

There was no evidence of any medication in Alex's bodynot insulin or pain medication.

The boy had a skeletal appearance, thin hair, sunken eyes and his teeth were "in an extreme state of disrepair," saidGofman.

Hisreport took about nine months to complete, once he was able to analyze medical information from Alex's time in B.C.

Alex was diagnosed withType 1 diabetes when he was a toddler and his family lived in Surrey, B.C. He washospitalizednumerous times.

Earlier in the Court of Queen's Bench judge-alone trial, Justice KarenHornerheard evidence that the family had a history of refusing to treat Alex's diabetes.

He wasseized from them for a year by B.C. social services after he nearly died.The judge has yet to rule on the admissibility of the B.C. evidence.

Gofmanalso found there was no evidence Alex had ever been to see a doctor after the family moved to Alberta five years ago.

Kindergarten teacher heartbroken

Alex Radita's kindergarten teacherSandy Wong satquietly in the back rowtaking in the graphic evidence presented to the court on Day 6.

The seats in the gallery had beenempty but for a handful of reporters up to this point.

Wong, who recently moved from B.C. toCochrane, saidshe only learned of the circumstances of Alex's death before the trial began.

She has since written a letter toB.C.'s Ministry of Children and Family Development.

"We live in a broken world and we're all flawed individuals. Mistakes are made," wrote Wong.

"I believe that Alex was failed on so many levels by so many flawed people."