Details of toddler's death remain secret

Nearly a year after paramedics rushed two-year-old Alexzender O'Neil Flint-Kerr to hospital, the details of the boy's death remain a secret.

Charges won't be laid in connection with Alexzender's Christmas Day death, Saint John police said Wednesday.

But the case isn't being marked closed.

• Toddler's Christmas Day death investigation waiting on autopsy 
• Toddler who died on Christmas day suffered previous head injury
• Saint John police investigating child's death on Christmas Day

"Files of this magnitude are never closed," Saint John police Sgt. Chuck Breen said in an email.

Police declined to speak with CBC News about Alexzender's case in order to "protect the integrity of the investigation."

Breen also declined to reveal the cause of Alexzender's death.

Police were called to his family's home in the north end of Saint John last Christmas Day after a report of a fall.

The toddler was rushed to hospital by ambulance. But he wouldn't make it.

Circumstances unclear

Since then, police have said little about the investigation into his death.

How the fall happened, and whether the boy's injuries were consistent with an accidental fall, remain unclear.

In news reports, Alexzender's father, Oliver Kerr, said his son fell and struck his head on the toilet while he was getting him undressed for a bath. Earlier this year, police said evidence at the scene supported the father's claim.

The decision not to lay charges was made in consultation with the coroner's office and the Saint John Regional Hospital's pathology department, Breen said in a news release.

Earlier this year, police said they were awaiting the results of an autopsy to learn more about how Alexzender died.

The details of the autopsy are protected as personal health information, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Paul Bradley.

Toddler had previous head injury

When asked if Alexzender's case could trigger a public inquest, Bradley said a decision would be made after the chief coroner reviews completed case files.

Alexzender's trip to the hospital on the day of his death wasn't his first.

He was brought to the Saint John Regional Hospital with a head injury on Christmas Eve 2013, when he was just two months old.

Police were concerned enough with his condition to investigate and call in child protection officials, Sgt. Lori Magee has previously said.

She said Alexzender's father, mother and a third person were home at the time and questioned.

But criminal charges weren't approved by Crown prosecutors in that case.

"The police investigation in collaboration with the Department of Social Development concluded, with the Crown prosecutions office advising that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a criminal charge relating to the injuries sustained by the child," Magee said.

Death may be reviewed by committee

The circumstances of Alexzender's death meets the criteria to be referred to the province's Child Death Review Committee, Bradley confirmed. 

That committee looks into "sudden and unexpected" deaths of children under the age of 19.

The death of a child who was in foster care or received services from the Department of Social Development within the previous 12 months is automatically referred to the committee.

In cases where the child died from natural causes, the committee can decide whether to launch a full review into the death.

Bradley didn't say whether the committee has decided to give Alexzender's case a full review.

Most of report secret

The report generated from that review is secret, except for the recommendations. The minister is required to respond to those recommendations within 45 days.

Publicly, Alexzender's family has remembered him as a happy, curious boy, one who dreamed of having his own dog.

"Soar with the angels our little prince," Alexzender's public death notice says.

"You are loved beyond words and will be missed beyond time."