Northern Ont. grandparents sentenced to house arrest for failing to protect dead toddler

The maternal grandparents of an East Ferris toddler who was killed in January of 2020 have pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessities of life.

Warning: some of the details in this story are disturbing

The maternal grandparents of a nearly two-year-old child who was killed in 2020 will serve one year of house arrest after pleading guilty in a North Bay courtroom to failing to provide the necessaries of life in a horrific case of child abuse.

Rhandi Melvaer, 62, and Wayne Smith, 63, said they “screwed up,” admitting their actions contributed to the death of their grandson, Oliver McCarthy.

The sentence was handed down May 1.

Heartbroken members of the McCarthy family hugged each other outside the courthouse after the sentence was handed down.

“He was starting to have personality. He was looking around and he just loved to look at things,” said Steve McCarthy, Oliver’s paternal grandfather.

Oliver was just 22 months old when he died from blunt force trauma Jan. 15, 2020, in East Ferris. His injuries were so severe that some of his internal organs burst.

At the time of his death, he was in the care of his mother, Nadine Maelvar, who has already been sentenced in the case.

Three months before his death, Oliver was taken to his family doctor with bruises on his ears.

A month later, he was rushed to the North Bay Regional Health Centre and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa for bruises on his body and broken ribs.

Doctors were unable to find a medical reason for the injuries.

At that point, Ontario Provincial Police and the Children’s Aid Society of Nipissing and Parry Sound launched a child abuse investigation and were waiting for a doctor’s report.

During that time, OPP said it was safe for Oliver to live with Nadine Melvaer in his maternal grandmother Rhandi Melvaer’s and step-grandfather Wayne Smith’s East Ferris Home.

The three of them agreed to a safety plan with CAS that stipulated Oliver was to remain at the home and that he was to have no contact with Nadine’s boyfriend, Tyler Campbell.

The McCarthy family notified Children’s Aid that the agreement was being violated after discovering a quickly deleted social media post with a photo of Nadine Melvaer, Oliver and Campbell together.

Caseworkers conducted several house visits in the weeks before the young boy’s death. During one visit, the court heard that Oliver appeared unwell. He was vomiting and the caseworker advised he see a doctor.

But she was assured there were no issues. The family was reminded of the safety agreement during each visit.

“That should have raised huge red flags,” said Oliver’s aunt, Jen McCarthy.

“Like, you have a child under the age of two who can’t talk and who had broken bones.”

Defence attorney Nicolas Xynnis said that right before Oliver’s death, a huge snowstorm blew into the North Bay area. Smith was clearing the snow from his home. He allowed Oliver to stay at his stepdaughter’s home, where he ended up being assaulted and beaten to death.

When emergency responders arrived, they discovered Oliver had been dead for some time and rigor mortis had set in.

Following a lengthy investigation, Nadine Melvaer and Campbell were arrested in spring 2021.

In April 2024, Nadine Melvaer pleaded guilty to manslaughter and Campbell pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of failing to provide the necessaries of life.

She was sentenced to 6 1/2 years behind bars, while Campbell is serving three years less time served, followed by three years of probation.

“Do we feel 100 per cent satisfied? No, because justice was served. But the time that people received for the death of our loved one is not comparable to what we think it should have been,” Steve McCarthy said.

“Somehow they must have known that they were putting the baby in danger.”

Rhandi Melvaer and Smith, who appeared in court through Zoom, both pleaded guilty of failing to provide the necessaries of life Friday morning.

“Their grief is quite palpable. They are here to accept (the consequences of) their actions -- or lack of actions,” Xynnis said.

In her sentencing, Superior Court Justice Susan Stothart agreed with a joint submission from the defence and assistant Crown Attorney Michael Crystal.

Both grandparents will serve a 12-month conditional house arrest with statutory conditions. During the first six months, neither are allowed to leave the home except for medical emergencies or for the necessities of life twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The second half of the sentence will be served with an evening curfew, except for medical emergencies. They are also to have no contact with the McCarthy family.

“Oliver would be around eight years old today. He should be going to school and learning to ride a bike,” Stothard said.

“Our children are our both precious and vulnerable members of society.”

Stothart added she would have handed down a jail sentence had it not been for Melvaer’s medical issues. She suffered a stroke in 2021 and spends most of her days in a wheelchair or in bed. Smith is her primary caregiver.

“Oliver could have been placed in a safe environment if police and CAS knew he was being brutally assaulted,” she said.

“They failed their grandson.”

For the McCarthy family, the pain that cuts deepest is knowing Oliver will never grow up or celebrate birthdays.

“I started a flower garden in his memory,” Jen McCarthy said.

“One of the only summers that we had with him, he had really enjoyed stopping and smelling the flowers.”

The McCarthys said they support an inquest into the matter to prevent similar tragedies involving young children.

“It was so preventable and it was so obvious that it was an ongoing situation,” Jen McCarthy said.

“It was very senseless and dragged on for a very long time.”