Mother who left newborn in Wal-Mart toilet not guilty
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 | 10:35 AM CT
CBC News
April Dawn Halkett walked out of a courthouse in Prince Albert, Sask. on Wednesday after being found not guilty of child abandonment. (David Shield/CBC)A woman who gave birth in a Wal-Mart washroom in Prince Albert, Sask., and left the baby behind has been found not guilty of child abandonment, a judge has ruled.
Queen's Bench Justice Neil Gabrielson released his decision Wednesday in the case of April Dawn Halkett, 22. He said the Crown didn't prove its case, and that while what Halkett did was negligent and inappropriate, it was not criminal.
Halkett rested her head on one of her hands while the decision was read. She didn't react in the courtroom when Gabrielson said she was not guilty.
Halkett's stepfather, Ken Charlette, said later the young woman was "very emotional".
"She just cried," he said. "We just talked very briefly and we said, 'OK, we'll go home, we'll talk about it, we'll put everything together.'"
During her judge-alone trial in May, Halkett testified that she did not realize she was pregnant when she went to use the store's washroom during a shopping trip in May 2007.
She said that the birth happened very quickly and that the child did not look like he was alive.
In a police interview, entered into evidence at the trial, Halkett said after giving birth she was scared, she washed the blood off her hands and ran out of the washroom.
The baby was found in the toilet.
At the trial, Halkett's lawyer, Ajay Krishan, said her actions were not premeditated. He said Halkett didn't know she was pregnant that day, having taken three home pregnancy tests, all of which came back negative.
The Crown prosecutor, Jennifer Claxton-Viczko, told the court that Halkett must have known what was happening and had a responsibility to look after the child.
Outside the courthouse Wednesday, Claxton-Viczko said she doesn't know whether she will appeal the decision.
The fact that Halkett didn't pick up her child to see if he was breathing is important, Claxton-Viczko said.
"She didn't do what was required of her as a mother, and so child abandonment, I think, falls into that category," she said.
In his decision, Gabrielson said Halkett's stated belief that the baby was dead was reasonable. Court heard the child was blue and cold to the touch.
"Under these circumstances, of an unknown pregnancy and a premature, precipitous birth, it is understandable the accused did not think the child was alive, that she would be scared or panicked, not request help, and immediately leave the scene of the birth," Gabrielson said.
The fact she turned herself in and wanted to see the baby once she knew it was alive is not consistent with someone who intended to endanger the life of a child, he said.
A criminal conviction for abandoning a child carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
After the baby was found alive in the bathroom, he was taken into custody by the provincial Ministry of Social Services.
Since then, the boy has been living under the care of a family and Halkett has been in regular contact with him.
A publication ban is in place that prohibits reporting some elements of the story in order to protect the identity of the child.
