Overdose baby's father tried CPR for 5 hours

A Calgary father charged in his daughter's overdose death tried to revive the baby using wires from a lamp as a makeshift defibrillator, a court heard Tuesday.

Jonathan Hope told paramedics who responded to his southwest Calgary home in April 2006 that he performed CPR on his daughter for five hours, witnesses testified.

A paramedic said he noticed a dismantled lamp at the scene, and Hope indicated he tried to restart the baby's heart with two bare wires.

Hope said he did not call 911 because his phone wasn't working, the judge-only trial in the Court of Queen's Bench heard.

Sixteen-month-old Summer Hope died after swallowing a lethal amount of methadone. Police believe her father smuggled the methadone home from a clinic where he was being treated for drug addiction.

Hope and Lisa Guerin, are charged with manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and failure to provide the necessities of life in their daughter's death.

"Our allegation against Mr. Hope is that he allowed the situation to develop where this child ingested methadone and she passed away and then he didn't take proper steps afterward," Crown prosecutor Ken McCaffrey said.

The Crown alleges that Summer's mother is guilty of the charges by omission because she knew what happened but left the house.

Hope's bail was revoked on Monday after he showed up in court with signs of intoxication.