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2d ago

Edmonton Police Confront Crown Over 8-Year Manslaughter Plea in Child Homicide

The police service is seeking an administrative review under R. v. Nixon of the Crown’s plan to accept an eight-year manslaughter plea.

Edmonton Police Service shoulder badge in Edmonton on Tuesday, Aug 1, 2023. A fire that destroyed an aircraft hangar built during the Second World War in Edmonton is being investigated by police as suspicious. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
A disguised photo of an eight-year-old Edmonton girl who died of blunt force trauma in April 2023.
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Edmonton police confirmed human remains discovered on Samson Cree Nation April 29, 2023, are those of an eight-year-old girl reported missing from Edmonton earlier in the month. Three people are now facing charges in her death, including a 27-year-old woman. The girl's identity is under a publication ban.

Overview

  • EPS sent a letter to assistant deputy justice minister Kim Goddard asking her to review and halt the reported plea deal for a woman originally charged with first-degree murder.
  • Police said they would release investigative details if the manslaughter plea proceeds, arguing the proposed sentence would be a miscarriage of justice.
  • Defence lawyers and legal groups condemned the intervention, with the Criminal Trial Lawyers’ Association calling the tactic improper and potentially prejudicial.
  • The Alberta Crown Prosecution Service declined substantive comment, citing the accused’s right to a fair trial and the risks of public commentary on a live case.
  • A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday morning before Justice Jody Fraser, as the case remains under a publication ban; two men earlier pleaded guilty to indignity to a body and received sentences just under three years.