HALIFAX — An independent review of the investigation into the death of a three-year-old Nova Scotia girl has concluded the Truro Police Service did not properly handle the case.
Samantha Mercer died on March 3, 2005, from a severe head injury.
Terry Dean Allen, the boyfriend of the girl's mother, was charged with manslaughter, but was acquitted in September 2009 at the conclusion of his trial.
Gerard Mitchell, police commissioner for Prince Edward Island, says in his report released today that the investigation was flawed.
He says the case was marred by "procedural errors, neglect, lack of diligence, and failure to provide the Crown with appropriate deliverables in a timely manner."
But Mitchell says he cannot say that a better managed investigation would have produced a different result.
