Father brought methadone home for mother to try, court told

CALGARY - The father of a toddler girl who died of a methadone overdose brought the drug home because his wife wanted to see what it would do to her, the woman's former friend testified this morning.

Amanda MacDonald was in the southwest fourplex on the afternoon when 16-month-old Summer Hope drank a lethal dose of methadone -- a synthetic opiate often used in addiction treatment.

She told the court the girl's parents, Jonathan Hope and Lisa Guerin (also known as Lisa Hope) were packing the car so Guerin and MacDonald could drive to Rocky Mountain House and she was in the living room with the couple's son when she saw Summer wander towards the master bedroom. She then returned, her chin damp and her shirt stained with reddish-orange liquid.

"Oh my God, Jonathan, she just drank your methadone," MacDonald told the court Guerin had exclaimed.

The former couple are both charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and failure to provide the necessities of life in Summer's death.

She was discovered dead on April 30, 2006 -- the day after she ingested the methadone.

MacDonald testified she asked how there was even methadone in the home and Guerin told her Hope had spit some back into a styrofoam cup when getting his dose that afternoon from a downtown clinic. because Guerin "wanted to try it to see what it would do to her."

As Summer sat between them on the hide-a-bed in the living room, Guerin asked MacDonald what would happen to her daughter.

"She just drank watered down heroin," MacDonald said she replied. "She's going to get sick but I don't think she's going to die."

She also said she told Guerin they should not go to Rocky Mountain House for work because Summer needed medical treatment, but Guerin was adamant.

The trial continues this afternoon.

grichards@theherald.canwest.com