Couple absolved over baby son's death - theage.com.au

March 20 2003
By Lee Glendinning

"The NSW Coroner has absolved parents of a five-day-old baby found dead in his cot of any wrongdoing, clearing them of allegations the child died of a methadone overdose. Baby Ewen died of natural causes, probably a congenital heart defect, and not from the effects of methadone, Glebe Coroner's Court was told yesterday. Coroner John Abernethy used his findings to launch into a defence of the Department of Community Services, which he said was too often blamed in these cases. He also cleared Bankstown Hospital and medical staff of any involvement in the child's death. Central to the inquest was whether Ewen had died from a methadone overdose from his mother's breast milk, or if he was given the drug by someone in the house."