Man charged in 2016 baby death denied bail

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This article was published 24/01/2024 (604 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man facing a manslaughter charge in connection with the death of his two-month-old daughter in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation eight years ago will be kept behind bars while he awaits his trial, a judge decided.

Keifer Mecas made an unsuccessful bid for bail in provincial court on Tuesday. In addition to the manslaughter charge from 2016, Mecas is facing charges for assault and failure to comply with conditions of a release order.

The Crown opposed Mecas’s release, citing his history of alleged breaches of his release order and the protection of a witness in the prosecution’s case, while defence argued for Mecas’s release back to Sioux Valley Dakota Nation.

Crown attorney Melania Cannon read the evidence for the charges in court. The charges against Mecas have not been proven in court and he remains innocent until proven guilty.

In January 2016, the father was alone with his two-month-old baby and texted his partner that the baby was crying uncontrollably. Throughout the night, the infant exhibited signs of distress. The next morning, he texted his partner to say the baby was not breathing and he was doing CPR.

The baby was rushed to the hospital and was diagnosed with a brain injury consistent with shaken baby syndrome. The baby remained in the pediatric intensive care unit until she died on Jan. 26.

Police investigated the death after a statement was made by the father at a family gathering while he had been drinking heavily.

Mecas and his partner remained in a relationship after the death and had more children together. On Jan. 23, 2023, he was charged with manslaughter.

Since then, he has accumulated charges for allegedly breaching his previous release conditions to not have contact with his partner or supervise their children. He is also facing charges for allegedly assaulting his partner, though both the Crown and defence told the court that the woman has informed both parties that she wants to have those charges dropped.

“Having contact with (his partner) in her home and being responsible for their children, he has demonstrated, in my submission, that he is not willing or able to stay away from them,” Cannon said. “And the risk that presents is simply too great for releasing him again.”

Mecas’s lawyer, Andrew Synyshyn, said his client does not look after his children alone contrary to his court orders, but spends time with them when there are other adults in the home. He argued that the court does not need to impose a condition for Mecas and his partner to not be together when it is consensual because the police have already taken statements from both and have had plenty of time to conduct their investigation.

He presented a bail plan that would have his client living with his mother-in-law in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation with conditions to only have contact with his partner at her invitation, to not be around any children under the age of 16 unless supervised and to not be in the city of Brandon.

Associate Chief Justice Donovan Dvorak agreed with the Crown about the concerns for the safety of the children and protecting a witness. He also cited concern with the alleged repeated breaches pertaining to both the children and his partner, and denied Mecas’s bail.

Mecas’s matters are scheduled to next appear in Court of King’s Bench on Feb. 20.

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