Monday, December 22, 2025
ADVT 
National

Final Arguments Delayed In Trial For Woman Charged With Hiding Infant Remains

Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Sep, 2016 01:16 PM
    WINNIPEG — Closing arguments in the trial of a Winnipeg woman charged with hiding the remains of six infants in a storage locker have been delayed.
     
    The judge hearing the case of Andrea Giesbrecht agreed to adjourn proceedings until October after Crown attorney Debbie Buors sent an email saying she was sick.
     
    The judge gave the Crown until Sept. 23 to file a written argument to the court giving an "element-by-element" breakdown of evidence it's relying on for each charge.
     
    That will be shared with Giesbrecht's defence team, which will have a chance to respond in writing as well.
     
    Giesbrecht was arrested in October 2014 after the remains were found by storage locker employees, but the 42-year-old has been free on bail.
     
    Defence lawyer Greg Brodsky said outside the courtroom he was disappointed by the delay.
     
    "We wanted to get the case on and over with," he said Friday.
     
    Court has heard most of the remains found in the storage locker were in white garbage bags that were inside other bags and containers. One was in a pail under a type of concrete. Another had been covered in a white powder that slowed decomposition but dried out the body and left it rock hard.
     
    The third infant was little more than a pile of bones wrapped in a towel.
     
    Experts who examined the remains and reviewed the findings testified the infants were developed enough to probably have been born alive, but added it was impossible to say for sure. Nor could they tell how the babies had died because of the advanced state of decomposition.
     
    The defence opted not to call any witnesses.
     
    The charges facing Giesbrecht carry a maximum sentence of two years on each count.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Trio Charged With First-degree Murder In Newfoundland Man's Abduction

    Trio Charged With First-degree Murder In Newfoundland Man's Abduction
    ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The mayor of a Newfoundland suburb says residents are "more at ease" since police charged three men in the abduction and death of Steven Miller.

    Trio Charged With First-degree Murder In Newfoundland Man's Abduction

    Global Rights Groups To Keep Eye On Canada's Missing, Murdered Women Inquiry

    OTTAWA — The number of missing or murdered indigenous women in Canada has not escaped the attention of members of the international human rights community, who will keep a close eye on a national inquiry they say is long overdue.

    Global Rights Groups To Keep Eye On Canada's Missing, Murdered Women Inquiry

    Manitoba Premier Says He Has Not Talked With Owners Of Shutdown Port

    Manitoba Premier Says He Has Not Talked With Owners Of Shutdown Port
    Omnitrax has not made any public statements and has refused media requests for interviews about the decision, which has resulted in dozens of layoffs in Churchill.

    Manitoba Premier Says He Has Not Talked With Owners Of Shutdown Port

    Protesters Gathers Outside Mount Polley Mine, Site Of Disaster 2 Years Ago

    On Aug. 4, 2014, a tailings storage facility burst at the mine, sending 24 million cubic metres of waste and water into nearby lakes and rivers.

    Protesters Gathers Outside Mount Polley Mine, Site Of Disaster 2 Years Ago

    Dangerous Offender Hearing Scheduled For Man Who Attacked Homeless Saskatchewan Woman

    PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — A man who pleaded guilty to a brutal attack on a Saskatchewan homeless woman is to face a dangerous offender hearing next year.

    Dangerous Offender Hearing Scheduled For Man Who Attacked Homeless Saskatchewan Woman

    New Commander Promises To Fix Much-maligned Military Support Unit

    New Commander Promises To Fix Much-maligned Military Support Unit
    OTTAWA — The new head of the military's support unit for ill and injured military personnel is promising to address the many problems that have plagued the oft-criticized system for years.

    New Commander Promises To Fix Much-maligned Military Support Unit