A Winnipeg woman has been accused of putting her newborn daughter in a trash can in the back lane where the baby was found dead in May, police said.
Janine Rosa Moir, 31, has been charged with manslaughter and manslaughter.
Investigators from the Department of Child Abuse claim that the baby was born in a home in the Garden City neighborhood of Winnipeg and then hidden in a trash can.
They believe the baby was alive when it was placed in the bin, Const. Claude Chancey told a news conference Wednesday what he called a “grim” incident.
“We are talking about a baby. This is someone who was born and rejected, [and] there is no chance of living a full life, “Chansi said.
“So it’s extremely traumatic for the family. It’s extremely traumatic for the community as a whole. It’s traumatic for the first responders who also attended this event.”
“Not a common case”
Chancy said the accusation of manslaughter, made after consulting with crown prosecutors, “definitely speaks to the intent and planning of the crime.”
Generally, manslaughter is defined as murder committed without intent to killalthough there may have been an intention to cause harm.
On May 3, police said the newborn was placed in a trash can on Boyd Avenue in the Salter Street area, south of the neighborhood where investigators say the baby was born.
When officers arrived, they found the baby’s body. Chancy said he could not say who told police about the body or how long they believed the baby had been there.
An investigation that included questioning witnesses identified Moir as the baby’s mother and was arrested later that day at a home near where the body was found, Chansi said. She was admitted to hospital for medical precautionary measures and later released from custody pending further investigation.
The Child Abuse Unit continued its investigation, and on May 10, Moir was arrested and charged with concealing a child’s body, Chancy said in an email later Wednesday.
Moir was detained and transported to the Hedgingley Women’s Correctional Center, he said.
Nearly a month later, Moir was arrested again at a correctional facility and charged with manslaughter, Chansie said.
Asked at the press conference why the police took more than a month to announce the death publicly, Chansi said the investigation was “very smooth”, which includes medical and forensic tests.
“It takes time, and of course the consultation with the Crown, which she later had to do, that’s the reason. This is not a common case. “It’s very specific,” he said.
Chancy said he could not provide any information about the baby’s father or whether anyone else was being investigated for the death. He also declined to say whether investigators believe Moir took the baby to the rubbish bin on Boyd Avenue.
Moir remains in custody.
Police call Baby Moar. Death marks the 23rd murder of Winnipeg in 2022.
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