A 28-year-old woman has been charged with second degree murder in the death of a 15-month-old toddler earlier this month.
Just before 9 p.m. on Dec. 5, Wetaskiwin Emergency Medical Services responded to a report of a child in distress at a residence on the Samson Cree Nation in Maskwacis, about 100 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.
Paramedics determined the child was dead.
Maskwacis RCMP officers and investigators from the RCMP major crimes unit began an “extensive investigation” into the toddler’s death, which was confirmed to be a homicide two days later, police said in a news release. The cause of death has not been released.
It was determined to be suspicious from the start, said RCMP Cpl. Hal Turnbull. Paramedics had “some concerns about the physical appearance of the child and the investigation began at that point,” he said.
“They basically knew who they were after. It was a matter of putting all the pieces of the puzzle together and taking the time to do that,” he said.
A 28-year-old woman from Maskwacis was arrested on Monday and has been charged with second degree murder. She was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. It’s unclear if or how the woman and child may be related.
Neither the woman’s name nor that of the child are being released by the RCMP. The child’s gender has not been released either. Turnbull cited privacy as the reason behind these decisions.
“We will confirm the names, but we’re not going to give them out. The family’s been through enough at this time and there are other children involved who are not harmed, they’re safe, but there are other children in the family,” he said.
The child was not in provincial care at the time.
“In regards to the community, it’s certainly a tragic blow … (Children) are the defenceless ones, the ones for whom we are to care for,” Turnbull said.
