Father tells Calgary trial he wanted to get help for disabled daughter

CALGARY — The father of a disabled woman who weighed just over 50 pounds when she died has testified he told his ex-wife they should take their daughter to see a doctor, but she would only say she would think about it.

Bryan Couture testified Thursday he could smell human waste in the home where his daughter lived with his ex-wife, but Patricia Couture told him it was the smell of demons living in the wall.

Their daughter, Melissa, 38, had cerebral palsy and had the cognitive level of a three or four year old.

Patricia Couture, 70, is charged with criminal negligence causing death.

Bryan Couture said he visited the young woman about once a week and that he and his ex-wife divorced in 1998.

He described his daughter as a “special gift” but said in the last months of her life she had lost weight and could not move her arms or legs.

He said he had finally decided to move her from the home to get help, but he did not act on that decision by the time she had died.