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CALGARY — A seven-year-old boy who died from a treatable strep infection three years ago lived in squalor and was treated with dandelion tea and oil of oregano instead of antibiotics, a trial heard Monday.

Tamara Lovett, 47, is charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life and with criminal negligence causing the death of her son. Ryan Alexander Lovett died in March 2013 after getting a strep infection that kept him bedridden for 10 days.

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Prosecutor Jonathan Hak said in his opening arguments in a Calgary courtroom that the family lived off the grid in a dark, dirty apartment. The boy’s birth had never been registered.

An autopsy revealed the boy had contracted Group A streptococcus infection and pneumonia. The official cause of death was sepsis which brought on multi-organ failure.

“In the last days of his life, Ryan was actively dying,” the prosecutor said.

Hak said Ryan’s heart was infected, he had meningitis and his immune system was exhausted. He could fight no more.