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Baby Doe, newly born, was found dead on March 19th, 2008.

Naomi Russell-Simpson, 20, was charged with committing an indignity to a dead human body, neglecting to obtain assistance in childbirth and concealing the body of a child.

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Homicide detectives and the medical examiner were called out to a north-side home after the body of a baby was found inside a bag.

Emergency medical services were dispatched to a home at 6912 130 Avenue just after 2 p.m. on March 19th, 2008. Upon arrival they found themselves dealing with the suspicious death of an infant.

Police were then called out and immediately homicide detectives and personnel from the medical examiner's office were brought to the scene.

According to neighbours, a young family with three children – a girl about six, a boy about five and a girl about two years old – moved into the bungalow last fall. Few knew a person also lived in the basement.

As the afternoon wore on, crime scene tape was put up around the house and yard ...

... as forensic officers documented the scene ....

... well into the evening.

Two people were seen taken into police custody for questioning, including a woman said to be the baby's mother.

The age and gender of the baby was not officially released but media soon reported the infant was only a day or two old.

News that a baby had died in the house came as a surprise to neighbours.

"Oh ... I didn't even know there was a baby living there to be quite honest," Linda Pyper told CTV Edmonton when informed of the details.

"I knew that there was a family in the top level but somebody was renting the bottom I think," she said.

Media spoke to a man named Wayne who rents the top floor of the home with his girlfriend. Asking that his last name not be used, Wayne said he went to the basement where a woman in her early 20s rents a suite.

Looking under the woman's bed, Wayne found a white, plastic grocery bag. He called out to his girlfriend and together they opened the bag and saw a tiny hand. The rest of the baby's body was wrapped in towels.

Wayne's girlfriend and the woman were friends who went to school together at CDI College. It didn't appear to either of them that the downstairs tenant was pregnant. Wayne added he thought the woman's boyfriend also didn't know of the pregnancy.

Wayne said paramedics told him it appeared the baby had been born alive.

At the time the man didn't explain what initially brought him to the basement and caused him to look under the woman's bed.

The tiny body of the infant was removed from the house early the next morning. Results of an autopsy, completed March 20th, were withheld so as not to interfere with the investigation.

Officials continued to class the death only as suspicious but did reveal the baby was a young girl.

The day after he found the baby, Wayne faced the cameras and spoke of his experience.

"I went downstairs to change over the laundry. My dog was going nuts at one of the bedroom doors. I thought it was a mouse or something.

"I opened the door. My dog went to the right side of the bed. I went over and looked and there was a white bag.

"I pulled the bag out and noticed there was red through the bag. I tore a small hole and there was blood."

Wayne ran upstairs and called his girlfriend to come home from school.

"She came and opened up the bag and seen that it was a baby's arm that came out. The bag was ice-cold so the baby was obviously dead and didn't move or nothing."

On the day the body was found, Wayne's girlfriend and the baby's mother had driven to school together.

"People thought she was pregnant but she denied it ... it's sad this situation."

The young father was upset by the discovery and has sought counselling.

"Pretty hard. I have two kids of my own. It's hard to see something like this."

Wayne's girlfriend struggled with the news.

"To be honest, she was a good girl," she said. "She had a good head on her shoulders. She comes from a good family."

She added her friend was at least seven months pregnant.

"We knew she was pregnant. She just wasn't willing to talk. As a person, it took a lot for me to turn in a friend.

"It's tragic. I just don't know why she couldn't come and tell me what was going on," she said.

With a charge of infanticide a possible outcome of the police investigation, the woman replied: "For her sake, I hope she didn't do this."

Wayne and his girlfriend said the woman's boyfriend was planning DNA tests to confirm that he was the father.

"He's lost his whole life," Wayne's girlfriend said.

Global Edmonton identified the woman at the centre of the story as Naomi Russell-Simpson. CTV Edmonton reported the woman was in hospital to undergo surgery.

On March 25th, 2008 police charged a 20-year-old woman in connection with the baby's death.

Naomi Russell-Simpson faced charges of committing an indignity to a dead human body, neglecting to obtain assistance in childbirth and concealing the body of a child.

Police said the baby was born alive but did not release any other details of the autopsy.

Detectives were reported to be continuing with the investigation and further charges may be laid. The child's death was not officially declared a homicide and was still considered a suspicious death.

Russell-Simpson was no longer in police custody, a spokesman said. She had made a brief appearance in court and was granted bail of $1,000.00. Released on her own recognizance, her next court appearance was set for April 8th, 2008 for election and plea.

A source told the Edmonton Sun that while Russell-Simpson was a student at the Northgate campus of CDI College she had received offers of assistance from faculty.

School administration declined to either confirm or deny her enrolment, citing privacy laws.

That helped was extended to the woman was also confirmed by the man who found the baby.

Wayne told the Sun, "She had lots of help. Everyone offered to help."

He described Russell-Simpson as a "pleasant and nice" young woman, adding she was quiet. She kept to herself and often stayed at her boyfriend's.

Wayne was puzzled why the woman chose to give birth at home. The man also said he was still troubled by his discovery of the tiny body.

"I didn't see it coming," he said. "I haven't been sleeping too good."

On April 8th, 2008 a lawyer made a brief appearance in court to set a new date for Russell-Simpson. A judge set aside May 15th.

Detectives have not yet declared the baby's death a homicide and still consider it suspicious. A police spokesman said the investigation is still ongoing and that further charges could be laid.

Under the charges, Naomi Russell-Simpson could face a number of penalties if found guilty.

Committing an indignity to a dead body carries a maximum sentence of five years.

Neglecting to obtain assistance in childbirth carries a maximum penalty of five years. The charge presumes that a woman gives birth "with intent that the child shall not live or with intent to conceal the birth of as child, fails to make provision for reasonable assistance," according to the Criminal Code of Canada. The charge also includes the provision that the child died or is permanently injured during or just after labour.

Concealing the body of a child carries a maximum sentence of two years.

CTV Edmonton spoke with defence lawyer Ed O'Neill about the rarely-laid charge of neglecting to obtain assistance in childbirth and why it may have been chosen over murder or manslaughter.

"I'm speculating, but it's an appropriate charge as well when the child dies shortly after birth and in those circumstances if there's evidence of that and there's evidence that the mother failed to do what was reasonable under the circumstances to effect a proper delivery," O'Neill said.

Had evidence indicated otherwise, police and the Crown Prosecutor's office could have charged Russell-Simpson with infanticide. The Criminal Code defines that act as a type of homicide that is excluded from murder.

"A female person commits infanticide when by a wilful act or omission she causes the death of her newly-born child, if at the time of the act or omission she is not fully recovered from the effects of giving birth to the child and by reason thereof or of the effect of lactation consequent on the birth of the child her mind is then disturbed."

"Every female person who commits infanticide is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years."

The Edmonton Sun consulted University of Alberta law professor Sanjeev Anand who felt it was time to treat infanticide as murder or manslaughter. His comments were made before the charges against Russell-Simpson were laid.

"Really, what we're talking about is women who are depressed because of their postpartum situation," said Anand.

Edmonton criminologist Bill Pitt was also asked by the Sun for his explanation of the charges.

"It means there's no evidence to proceed with infanticide or homicide, so they have to go with the lesser charges," he said. "And it all comes down to intent, and if there was no provable intent, then they can't lay the charge – it's as simple as that."

Pitt said police could consider charges of second-degree murder or manslaughter but onlt after a number of factors were taken into account.

"It could be a variety of issues, perhaps diminished responsibility," he said. "We don't know what the mother was like.

"There's always the mental concern of young mothers to consider following childbirth, and whether there is a diminished responsibility there."

"There is discretion built into the criminal-justice system," Pitt said. "So, there's latitude that the police have in laying the charge, there's latitude in how the Crown is going to proceed on a charge.

"And if it goes to the next level, to Corrections Canada and jail time, they have discretion, too."

Not to be outdone in the legal department, CBC Edmonton quoted prominent defence lawyer Robert Davidson as speculating it was Russell-Simpson's emotional state that likely convinced authorities not to charge her with infanticide.

"The investigation conducted by the police caused them to come to the conclusion – and the conclusion was shared by the Crown prosecutor's office who would have reviewed the investigation – that the death of the child was not willful or intentional," Davidson said.

Police last dealt with the murder of a child in January 2007.

Toddler Doe, 3, was found beaten to death while in foster care at a home near 157th Street and 78th Avenue.

A 32-year-old woman was charged with second-degree murder, assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, duty of persons to provide necessaries [failure to provide the necessities of life] and child abandonment. Neither the child or the woman could be identified under provisions of Alberta's Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act.

deadmonton 2008 - baby doe