The Saint John Law Courts building. (Image: Tamara Steele)
A man charged in the death of a toddler in Saint John last September made a brief court appearance on Monday.
Madison (Karrson) Bennett was originally charged with criminal negligence causing death and breach of probation.
A charge of second-degree murder was laid against the 23-year-old during a subsequent court appearance in late December.
Court documents allege that Bennett put a ping-pong ball in the child’s mouth which caused their death.
All three charges were transferred to the Court of Queen’s Bench, where Bennett appeared for the first time on Monday by video link.
A hearing was set to take place to discuss a limited publication ban in the case, but the matter was set over by a week until Feb. 14.
Court officials also scheduled a pre-trial conference in the case for the afternoon of Feb. 24.
Police have said they received a call about a child not breathing at an uptown address on the evening of Sept. 18.
They said the two-year-old was rushed to the hospital and later airlifted to the children’s hospital in Halifax but died from their injuries the next day.
Police said a 23-year-old was arrested on Sept. 28 as a result of their ongoing investigation, which also involved assistance from the Fredericton Police Force.
Follow
