Criminal trial set for Montreal mother charged with abandoning 3-year-old daughter

The criminal trial for the Montreal mother who allegedly abandoned her daughter in a field near a major Ontario highway has officially been set for Sept. 15.

The proceedings will focus on whether the 34-year-old woman was criminally responsible at the time of the alleged offence, according to Crown prosecutor Lili Prévost-Gravel.

“We’re going to look if the result of the psychiatrist’s evaluation is admissible for the judge,” Prévost-Gravel said, “and if he decides to follow or not the recommendation of the psychiatrist.”

The accused had been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation by Quebec Court Judge Bertrand St-Arnaud on July 11 after she was denied bail. Her 48-page psychological report was submitted from Montreal’s Philippe-Pinel Institute Monday morning.

The details of the assessment were placed under judicial seal to prohibit public access indefinitely.

While both the Crown and defence agree on the basic facts of what happened at the time of the alleged crime, they diverge on how the psychiatric findings should be interpreted, Prévost-Gravel told reporters.

The woman’s lawyers are invoking Article 16 of the Criminal Code, which states that a person is not criminally responsible if, because of a mental disorder, they were incapable of understanding the nature of their actions or knowing that those actions were wrong.

That means that at trial, the Crown said, the dispute will centre on whether the accused was able to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the alleged incident.

The Pinel psychiatrist is also scheduled to be questions by both parties during the trail.

“When we go to court, it is often because the facts are disputed. But in this case, they are not disputed,” Prévost-Gravel said in French. “It is the woman’s mental state that is in dispute.”

The mother appeared in person for the trial setting. She remained silent during the proceedings and was dressed in a grey sweatshirt.

The accused’s identity is protected by a publication ban put in place to guarantee her a fair trail. The ban also shields the name of her daughter from the public and prevents media from publishing or sharing details from the case.

Sûreté du Québec (SQ) officers were tasked with searching for the three-year-old girl on June 15, sparking a massive police operation that went on for over 72 hours after the accused walked into a business in Coteau-du-Lac, Montérégie, saying that she had lost her daughter.

Ontario Provincial Police found the woman’s three-year-old daughter alive and conscious on June 18 in a field near the St. Albert exit along Highway 417 in Ontario, four days after the young girl was reported missing.

The mother had been charged on July 3 with criminal negligence causing bodily harm, in addition to the charge of unlawful abandonment of a child that was initially assigned to her June 16.

The maximum sentence for criminal negligence causing bodily harm is 10 years, while the full penalty for the unlawful abandonment of a child is five years if convicted.

The Crown will not be seeking a second opinion to contest the woman’s psychiatric assessment, Prévost-Gravel said.

Prévost-Gravel added that the judge’s decision may not be rendered on the day of the beginning of her trial.

“The judge will have to decide first if the defense of (criminal non-responsibility) is admissible,” Prévost-Gravel said. “If it is admissible, he’s going to have to decide if she will be detained in Pinel or (if) she will be liberated with some conditions.”

In the meanwhile, the accused will remain detained until her trial date.