Suspect In Wal-Mart Baby Case Identified

Suspect In Wal-Mart Baby Case Identified

Monday, November 19, 2007 at 15:28

A judge in Prince Albert has struck down a temporary publication ban on the identity of a woman accused of abandoning a baby boy in a Wal-Mart washroom earlier this year.

21-year-old April Dawn Halkett was not present for the ruling. However, several lawyers representing her, two Saskatchewan newspapers and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band’s child and family services unit were in attendance.

A lawyer for the I.C.F.S. says he’s pleased the judge chose to keep a ban on the identity of the child.

Peter Abrametz Jr. says the welfare of the child is the group’s main concern.

In his ruling, Judge Stephen Carter said details of the child’s birth could never be kept a secret — and that someone would eventually have to tell him the circumstances surrounding his birth.

Efforts are currently being made to find a foster home for the boy.

A preliminary hearing for the accused, who has been charged with child abandonment, begins March 5th.