EDMONTON – An Edmonton man and his wife have appeared briefly in court charged with the murder of one of their young twin daughters.
The parents, who can’t be named under Alberta’s child protection laws, are to face a two-week preliminary hearing in June.
Paramedics were called last May to a home, where they found a two-year-old girl and her sister suffering from injuries and severe malnourishment. Police said the girls weighed 13 and 16 pounds.
The one girl, known in court documents as M, went into cardiac arrest and slipped into a coma in hospital.
Her parents were arrested on various child abuse charges, while the other twin and an older brother were placed in foster care.
Doctors earlier testified that M had an irreversible brain injury and would never regain consciousness. But the parents fought to keep her on life support, citing their religious beliefs as Muslims and their love for the child.
A Court of Queen’s Bench justice eventually ruled the girl should be taken off machines keeping her alive and the Alberta Court of Appeal agreed. The Supreme Court of Canada refused to step in and the girl died Sept. 20.
The parents, who were denied bail, were allowed to attend their daughter’s funeral at an Edmonton mosque. They were placed in handcuffs and escorted by sheriffs.
The Crown laid new charges against the couple this week: second-degree murder and criminal negligence causing death.
They still face original charges of aggravated assault, criminal negligence causing bodily harm and failing to provide the necessities of life.
Comments