A pregnancy care worker who spent several hours with Kimberly Rogers just before she died told a coronerÂ?s jury the woman was suffering from serious medical problems.
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Yvonne Cholette, Sudbury director of Birthright, a non-profit agency of volunteers who assist pregnant women, testified she visited Rogers the afternoon and evening of Aug. 6, 2001.
A pathologist has told the inquest Rogers almost certainly died Aug. 6 or 7. Her decomposed body was found inside her apartment the morning of Aug. 9.
Â?She hadnÂ?t had a bowel movement in three days,Â? Cholette testified. Â?Her abdomen was hard. She asked me to put my hand on it (abdomen) to see how hard it was. She had a migraine. She was very hot and sweaty.Â?
Because of her physical condition, she asked Rogers to go to a walk-in clinic and seek medical advice, but Rogers wouldnÂ?t agree.
Â?I asked her to go to the clinic,Â? said Cholette. Â?She said no, I canÂ?t leave.Â?
It was her impression Rogers believed she couldnÂ?t leave because she was under house arrest.
The inquest has heard Rogers could leave her apartment for medical or religious appointments or under any circumstance approved by her probation officer.
Cholette testified it was her opinion Rogers didnÂ?t consider attending a walk-in clinic a medical appointment that met the conditions of her sentence.
Rogers, 40, was sentenced to six months of house arrest, 18 monthsÂ? probation and ordered to pay restitution after pleading guilty to collecting $13,5000 in welfare benefits while collecting $32,000 in student loans between 1996 and 1999.
Rogers died from an overdose of anti-depressants. She suffered from chronic depression, migraines, panic attacks, insomnia and physical pain following 1997 knee surgery.
Rogers wanted medication for her constipation and migraine headache. Cholette went to a pharmacy and requested Tylenol 3. The pharmacist didnÂ?t believe strong medication was good for a pregnant woman and instead prescribed extra strength Tylenol and constipation medication, said Cholette.
When she returned to the apartment, Cholette suggested Rogers talk to her probation officer about being allowed to get outside more often as Sudbury was in the midst of a crippling heat wave.
It was her opinion Rogers, with the baby due in less than a month, was scared to be caught outside her apartment while under house arrest, said Cholette.
Â?She was convinced if she was caught outside the apartment, she would go directly to jail,Â? she said.
When she suggested Rogers look for another apartment more geared to income and with more space, Rogers told her she didnÂ?t want to move because she had several friends in her apartment building and she was centrally located to many amenities.
Rogers told her during that final meeting that she believed the sentence imposed against her was too severe, said Cholette.
Her welfare benefits had been reduced by 10 per cent to start restitution, she was under house arrest while pregnant, in tremendous debt and the heat was causing so many physical problems, said Cholette.
Â?Instead of paying one way, she felt she was being punished many ways,Â? she said. Â?She felt it was very harsh.Â?
Too hot
Frances Tait, executive director of SudburyÂ?s Pregnancy Care Centre, told the jury Rogers once complained of the heat inside her apartment being so intense she couldnÂ?t breathe properly.
Rogers told her she had stuck her head inside her freezer to get relief from the heat, said Tait.
TaitÂ?s office had more than 2,200 visits last year and more than 90 per cent were from women on social assistance with limited financial resources.
She met Rogers in early May one week after her house arrest sentence started. Rogers told her she Â?wanted to get off the system and make a difference,Â? Tait testified.
She was embarrassed about being caught, but was willing to serve her punishment, said Tait.
Like many clients, Rogers had to rely on food banks often and Rogers didnÂ?t like it.
Â?It was very degrading for her,Â? Tait testified.
Rogers admitted her mistake and was willing to pay a penalty, but felt helpless she and her baby might end up homeless if she went to jail, said Tait.
Rogers told her in late July when the heat wave began that extreme temperatures were taking a toll on her, said Tait.
Â?She was feeling really trapped in her home,Â? she said.
Having a baby at age 40 is difficult under ideal conditions, but much more difficult for a woman like Rogers suffering from so many difficult circumstances, she said.
Her experience clearly indicates most single welfare recipients donÂ?t have many support systems and very few can survive without the support of community agencies and food banks, said Tait.
Placing a pregnant woman suffering from depression and other psychological problems all alone under house arrest with very few supports in place is a recipe for disaster, said Tait.
Â?In my views, the whole system has to change,Â? she said.
In earlier testimony, a social worker who spent more time with Rogers than anyone during her sentence, testified Rogers was ecstatic about reconciling with her family.
Rogers said she was anxious about the impending birth of her baby, said Amanda Chodura, a case worker with the Sudbury Elizabeth Fry Society.
She got a surprise phone call from Rogers on Aug. 3.
Â?Kim didnÂ?t phone to chat often,Â? she said.
Â?But during this call, she was very excited. She was totally up.Â?
The only complaint from Rogers was about the intense heat inside her apartment, she said.
Rogers was very excited about just having finished doing laundry at her motherÂ?s home, where she talked to her sister, who was also pregnant, about impending motherhood, said Chodura.
Rogers was very concerned about her lack of financial support, how much her rent was in arrears and detailed how her welfare benefits had been cut off automatically for three months, said Chodura.
One of the first things she did was compile a list of community agencies that would be able to provide assistance, Chodura testified.
She wrote a six-page affadavit in support of Rogers, who with the help of the Sudbury Legal Aid Clinic, were initiating a court challenge to have her welfare benefits reinstated.
Initially, Rogers was excited about being involved in the court challenge, but she quickly became frustrated waiting for the courts to make a decision as she had no means of support, said Chodura.
The day Rogers found out she had won the challenge, Chodura was visiting Rogers at her apartment.
Â?She couldnÂ?t believe it,Â? said Chodura. Â?Something was finally going right for her. She was very pleased.Â?
Chodura recommended a protocol be established between community agencies and probation and parole officer to ensure people in similar circumstances to Rogers can access the help they need to survive.
In earlier testimony, Patti Wilkin, a veteran probation officer assigned to handle the file on Rogers, testified she would have given Rogers permission to leave her apartment for any legitimate reason.
Conditions of Rogers sentence include a provision to shop for food and necessities three hours every Wednesday morning, to attend medical or religious appointments.
She was also allowed to leave for other purposes as long as she received written permission from Wilkin.
Wilkin testified she asked Rogers about possibly visiting a psychiatrist, but Rogers showed no interest.
Rogers never requested that the terms of her house arrest be altered, said Wilkin.
The inquest continues today.
