The Calgary man charged with killing three-year-old Ivy Wick will have to wait until at least the end of the month to learn if he’ll be found guilty, after the Justice Justin Blair Nixon held his decision Tuesday following closing arguments from both the Crown and defence.
The judge-alone second-degree murder trial for 25-year-old Justin Bennett got underway in November, and evidence presented included video of an apparent confession by Bennett, during a Mr. Big sting operation.
Ivy died in October 2017, a week after she was taken to hospital with “significant injuries.” An autopsy revealed Ivy died of blunt-force trauma, which prompted homicide investigators to take over the case. The doctors caring for the toddler said her injuries weren’t consistent with those of a fall.
Less than a year later, the man her mother was in a relationship with at the time was charged with Ivy’s murder.
During closing arguments, the Crown argued “there is overwhelming evidence that establishes beyond reasonable doubt that Ivy died of inflicted injuries,” and that “Mr. Bennet had exclusive opportunity to kill Ivy.”
It’s believed Ivy’s mom was in the shower when the toddler was injured.
The Crown also argued that in the 15 minutes it took for Bennett to call 911, he was trying to figure out how to avoid being held responsible for Ivy’s death, and that there were “incredible” inconsistencies in his testimony.
The defence, however, argued that the Mr. Big operation was “deeply flawed” and that “because of those flaws, the confession it produced is unreliable and should not convince the court of unreasonable doubt of guilt.”
Defence lawyer Allan Fay said “there was no effort by the undercover officers to confirm or refute these statements,” and that there was no attempts made to check the accuracy or reliability of anything Bennet said during his time with the fake criminal organization used in the sting.
Fay said his client claimed he had told the undercover officers — posing as a criminal organization — what he thought they wanted to hear in regards to the toddler’s death.
“The court, in my respectful admission, should be left in doubt,” Fay said. “He lied to police officers posing as criminals.
“Mr. Bennet’s testimony before this court, in the very least… ought to raise a doubt in this courts mind as to whether or not he committed this crime.”
A date for Nixon’s decision will be set on Friday.