Fatality inquiry to begin into death of 37-pound Calgary teen killed by parents

A fatality inquiry is scheduled to begin this week, examining the circumstances that led to the prolonged and painful death of a teenager who was neglected and starved until he weighed less than 40 pounds.

Alex Radita would be 24 years old today.

When he died in 2013, he was 15 and weighed just 37 pounds after his parents refused for years to treat his Type 1 diabetes.

In 2017, Emil and Rodica Radita were convicted of first-degree murder in the death of their son and are currently serving life sentences.

They isolated their son, keeping him away from school and doctors in the years leading to his death.

This week, a provincial court judge will look into the circumstances of Alex’s murder with a goal of making recommendations to prevent similar deaths. 

After the parents were convicted, then-prosecutor Susan Pepper said the trial exposed “tears in our social safety net.”

Although Alex had been under the care of the province of British Columbia for a time after his parents first failed to treat his diabetes, he was ultimately returned to his family and nobody from that province communicated with Alberta social services when the Raditas moved here.

Alex was registered to be home-schooled, but despite not turning in work, nobody from the education system ever laid eyes on the boy.

The parents also did not take Alex to a doctor in his final years, so no medical professionals were able to see the child’s deterioration.