Terrance Lynn, godfather of Summer Hope, expresses his disappointment at the trial of the girl's parents Friday. The toddler died after drinking from a cup which contained methadone. (Jim Wells, QMI Agency)

CALGARY - They may have poor parenting skills, but the mother and father of a Calgary toddler who died of a methadone overdose aren't killers, a judge ruled Friday.

Justice Earl Wilson said while Jonathan Hope and Lisa Guerin failed in their parental duties by not getting their daughter medical help, they did not know she would die.

If fact, Wilson said, Hope's conduct once he found 16-month-old Summer Hope not breathing the next morning he acted as a loving father would.

"He panicked and he tried desperately and for hours to revive her and he failed," the Court of Queen's Bench judge said.

Wilson acquitted both Hope and Guerin of manslaughter and criminal negligence charges in the April 29, 2006, death of their little girl in their Southwood area home.

He did find both parents guilty of failing to provide the necessaries of life by not seeking medical intervention when the girl ingested a small, but deadly amount of methadone.

But Wilson said neither expected the tragic consequences of their parental inactions.

"Neither of these parents took any steps to obtain proper, or any, medical attention," he said.

The judge ruled Summer took a sip from a coffee cup which contained methadone "backwash" from a dosage Hope took earlier in the day at a clinic.

Hope told police he drank the coffee to help wash down the taste of the drug and continued sipping it on his way home.

There was still liquid left in the cup when he arrived at the southwest basement suite he shared with Guerin and their two kids.

When he went to do some repairs on their car so Guerin could use it to drive to Rocky Mountain House for an exotic dancer job, he placed the cup in their bedroom and closed the door.

Wilson accepted evidence from former cocaine addict Amanda MacDonald that when Hope returned, he and Guerin argued about Summer drinking from the cup.

He said Hope failed in his parental duties by not doing anything to get the child medical care and Guerin was similarly negligent for not doing anything.

Before leaving, Guerin convinced Hope the child would be OK.

"Regardless of Guerin's response, Hope was not incapable of doing something, anything, to get Summer to the hospital," Wilson said.

The little girl's Godfather, Terrance Lynn, called the failure to convict the two of criminal negligence "ludicrous."

"A 15-month-old girl doesn't have a chance to grow up directly because of the negligence of the parents," he said outside court.

Both parents remain in custody pending a sentencing date being set next Friday.

kevin.martin@sunmedia.ca