A preliminary hearing for a Lethbridge man charged with second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend’s baby son began on Thursday.
Tyler Hogan, 41, was arrested last July and charged with in connection with the death of Austin Wright.
Police said the baby was found suffering from cardiac arrest in April 2016. He was taken to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Officers said Hogan originally told them the boy had just stopped breathing.
An autopsy revealed Wright died of blunt force trauma, not consistent with a fall.
The preliminary hearing is scheduled to run over the course of five days, but is to be split up into two parts as the Crown requested to wait for more forensic evidence.
A Calgary judge has been assigned to hear the case because Hogan has family ties to a retired Lethbridge judge. His lawyer is also based out of Calgary.
Hogan was granted bail last August.
Some of his bail conditions include not having contact with any member of Austin Wright’s family, not being in the presence of anyone under 16 and abiding by a curfew between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m.