Boyfriend of Calgary toddler’s mother charged with 2nd-degree murder in child’s death

Police have charged a man with murder in the 2017 death of three-year-old Ivy Wick.

Justin Bennett was charged on Monday with second-degree murder in the toddler’s death. Bennett is Ivy’s mother’s boyfriend.

The charge comes after a renewed call for information pertaining to the case by police on Thursday, which the Calgary Police Service said yielded several tips from the public.

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The toddler was taken to hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries after EMS and police responded to a call of a child in medical distress at a home in the northeast community of Pineridge on Sept. 27, 2017.

Police said doctors who assessed Ivy at the hospital don’t believe her injuries were the result of a fall of any kind.

On Oct. 5, 2017, she was taken off life support.

An autopsy revealed she died of blunt-force trauma and police said on Oct. 25, 2017 that the homicide unit had taken over the investigation.

As part of an appeal to the public last Thursday, investigators said the toddler’s mother and her mother’s boyfriend were the only people with “direct access to Ivy the day she was taken to hospital.” Police also said they’d spoken with the couple, but their statements weren’t consistent with evidence collected.

Bennett, 25, was arrested Friday and appeared in court via CCTV from the Calgary Remand Centre on Monday where he was formally charged.

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Investigators are not looking for any other suspects, police said.

“Our homicide investigators have worked tirelessly to hold the alleged offender accountable and lay charges in this case,” Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta said in a release.

Police thanked the CPS child abuse unit and members from the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre for the help in the early stages of the investigation.

Bennett’s next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 19.

— With files from Nancy Hixt and Tracy Nagai