A 29-year-old man charged with murder in connection with the death of a 21-month-old boy made his first court appearance in Prince Albert, Sask., provincial court on Tuesday morning.
Kelvin Jonathan McCallum is charged with second-degree murder in the toddler’s death.
Prince Albert police and Parkland Ambulance paramedics were called shortly after noon on March 20 to a downtown apartment building, where the toddler was reported to be unconscious.
The young child was taken to Victoria Hospital and later died. Police said the death was considered a homicide after an autopsy last week.
McCallum’s court appearance on Tuesday morning was brief. He was remanded into custody and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on April 10.
“What I can say, is that this is something that is extremely disturbing, and not only for the community, but our members too, our members’ wellness,” Prince Albert police Deputy Chief Jason Stonechild said.
“We also have to look inward to our own members, because we have a lot of parents who have toddlers and this bothers police members at a deeper level.”
There have been four homicides in Prince Albert in 2019 — two in February and two in March.
“This year is unusual. We have not seen these numbers, especially so early in the year, in my career. There have been years, where scattered throughout the year we saw equal to, or one year in 2003 we had five homicides,” Stonechild explained.
“Three of the four (homicides) were target specific and I say that because it’s important for the community to know that there is no public safety threat,” Stonechild said.
“One (homicide) was a product of the environment of the individual who succumbed to a violent act, who was in an environment where it was dangerous.”
Two days after the toddler’s death, there was a second homicide in the same apartment building in downtown Prince Albert.
While both homicides occurred in the same building, police said the two incidents are not related.
Four men and a woman have been charged with first-degree murder after police were called to the apartment for a complaint of an assault in progress on March 22.
A 22-year-old man was found in critical condition and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Police said the victim and the five accused are known to each other.
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