Foster mom 'devastated' over boy's death, lawyer says

A Saskatchewan foster mom, charged in the death of a toddler, feels responsible but her actions weren't criminal, according to her lawyer.

Eunice Wudrich of Aberdeen is charged with criminal negligence causing death and endangering the life of a child. The charges are in connection with the death of 22-month-old Evander Lee Daniels on June 8.

The boy was found partially submerged in a bathtub in a foster home in Aberdeen, about 40 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. An autopsy revealed he had drowned and was badly burned.

"My client feels terrible about what happened, just devastated," Mark Brayford, Wudrich's lawyer, said Thursday. "Our client feels terribly responsible, [but] we certainly disagree that it is any way criminal to let a two year old play in the tub."

'The tap has been turned on and Evander is face down and it was just terrible after that.' Defence lawyer Mark Brayford

According to Brayford, Daniels was in a bathtub that had five centimetres of water in it.

The boy was alone for a few minutes while Wudrich was in another room in the home, looking after four other children and her own daughter.

"[Then] they realize the tap has been turned on and Evander is face down and it was just terrible after that," Brayford said. "They tried to revive Evander [and] called 911 immediately."

Brayford says his client's actions weren't criminal.

"When you have five toddlers, it's not like you can sit there with one of the toddlers in the bathtub," Brayford said. "The other four are going to be pulling the pot off the stove, so to speak."

The boy's grandfather told CBC News Thursday that he wants to know more about how the social services ministry evaluates foster homes.

"The foster homes should be looked at before they put the kids in there," Bruce Daniels said. "Instead of putting them in there right away."

Wudrich is set to be in court in October.

At the time of the boy's death, RCMP said the other four foster children were removed from the home by social services.