Hamilton Police have arrested and charged a 39-year-old woman with the 2017 death of her four-year-old son.

On September 27, 2017, Hamilton Police were called around 8:55 a.m. to a Hamilton residence on 56 Idlewood Avenue in response to a 911 call regarding an unresponsive child.

Police and EMS arrived within minutes only to find four-year-old Kane Driscoll obviously deceased. As with any death involving a child under the age of 5-years-old, the investigation was assigned to the Major Crime Unit.

The initial investigation showed no signs of foul play and Kane’s parents were cooperative with the investigation. Kane was born with a number of medical issues resulting in several major operations and many months of hospitalization. In September 2017, it appeared that Kane had overcome the worst of his challenges and he had recently started junior kindergarten.

A post-mortem was conducted on Kane the following day and the preliminary results showed no anatomical cause of death. Toxicology tests were ordered as a matter of protocol in all sudden deaths.

In December 2017, investigators were notified that the toxicology results showed a lethal dose of drugs within Kane’s system. A case conference was held on December 17, 2017, and the cause of death was deemed as a result of drug poisoning. At this time, Kane’s death was ruled as criminal and a homicide investigation commenced. For strategic and investigative purposes, investigators chose not to announce Kane’s death as a homicide after receiving the toxicology results.

On February 6, 2018, Kane’s parents were notified as to the cause of death and advised they were suspects in their son’s death. They both sought legal advice and refused to cooperate further with the investigation.

The initial investigation focused on interviewing witnesses and identifying where the particular drug had originated. During the course of the investigation, 48 judicial authorizations were obtained and executed. These mainly pertained to the medical records of both parents and Kane. The medical documents were lengthy and were reviewed by medical specialists.

Over the course of the investigation, investigators formed reasonable grounds to charge Kane’s mother, 39-year-old Lisa Strickland, with Manslaughter. During the investigation, it was also learned that Lisa Strickland was pregnant. The Hamilton Children’s Aid Society (CAS) was notified and briefed about the ongoing investigation. As a result, CAS decided to apprehend the newborn and notified area hospitals to alert them when Lisa Strickland delivered the baby.

In October 2018, the Hamilton CAS discovered that Lisa Strickland had left for Newfoundland and delivered the baby there. When the information came to the attention of the Hamilton CAS, they notified their counterparts from the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development in Newfoundland and arranged for the baby to be apprehended.

On February 6, 2019, members from the Hamilton Police Major Crime Unit travelled to Bonavista, Newfoundland with an arrest warrant. With the assistance of the St. John’s RCMP Major Crime Unit, they arrested Lisa Strickland for Manslaughter. She made a brief appearance in a Clarenville court the following morning and returned to Ontario yesterday evening. Lisa Strickland appeared at Hamilton’s John Sopinka Court House this morning and was remanded into custody.

Kane’s death takes the total number of Hamilton homicides in 2017 to eleven.

If you have any information that you believe could assist Police with the investigation into this crime, you are asked to contact Detective Richard Wouters at 905-546-4921.

To provide information anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit your anonymous tips online at http://www.crimestoppershamilton.com

D/Sgt Peter Thom will be available for media questions at 11:30 a.m. at Hamilton Central Station in the Bill Sturrup room.