Bail denied for woman accused in child’s drowning death at Alberta lake

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This article was published 27/11/2024 (375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

STONY PLAIN, Alta. – An Alberta woman accused in the drowning death of a five-year-old girl silently shook her head Wednesday as a judge denied her bail pending trial.

Mary Quinn, dressed in a yellow, institutional jumpsuit, heard the ruling while appearing remotely via video in provincial court in Stony Plain, west of Edmonton, on Wednesday.

Justice Rosanna Saccomani told court there is a concern Quinn could pose a significant risk to public safety if she were released.

Saccomani said the Crown prosecutor detailed a strong case against Quinn, calling the matter a “parent’s worst nightmare.”

“If you had remained in your home on Oct. 13, 2024, a five-year-old little girl would still be alive today,” Saccomani said in her decision, addressing the accused.

Quinn, 35, is charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life after the girl, whose identity is protected under a publication ban, drowned Oct. 13 at Wabamun Lake, west of Edmonton.

No other publication ban was ordered Wednesday or imposed on a bail hearing last week when lawyers for both sides argued the details of Quinn’s case.

At last week’s hearing, Crown prosecutor John Schmidt urged Quinn not be released. It’s not believed Quinn deliberately planned to kill the child, he said, but he said her actions show an attempt to hide her involvement.

He alleged Quinn told different stories to bystanders about what happened, ranging from the girl falling out of the canoe to chasing a duck and flipping the craft.

Saccomani said Wednesday that Quinn’s story doesn’t match those provided by witnesses.

The Crown previously told court Quinn was violating the terms of her house arrest under another offence when she went to Wabamun Lake that day.

Quinn didn’t get permission from her bail supervisor to visit the lake, he said.

Court did not hear how the child ended up in Quinn’s canoe, but Schmidt said the pair were strangers to each other and that the child’s father didn’t give the accused the OK to take her out on the water.

Neither wore a life-jacket, said Schmidt.

The girl’s father went to look for his daughter when he realized she was missing, the prosecutor said.

A group of fishermen saw Quinn’s canoe at the far end of Moonlight Bay, where she appeared to be holding something in the water, said Schmidt. Someone on the shore flew a drone over the canoe, where the accused was allegedly seen holding the girl under the water, he said.

When the girl’s father came across the accused’s canoe to ask where his daughter was, Quinn said she didn’t know, the prosecutor said. The Crown alleges the father then saw a small foot poking out from under the canoe.

Schmidt said the father pulled the girl into the boat and performed CPR until paramedics took over on shore. The girl was later pronounced dead.

Defence lawyer Jason Leung argued last week that his client should be released and that she could be trusted to follow strict conditions.

Quinn’s next court date is set for Jan. 8, 2025.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2024.