Second-degree murder charges have been laid against a father and his girlfriend after the badly bruised body of a toddler was found outside a church in Edmonton.
Joey Crier, 26 and Tasha Mack, 25, face charges of second-degree murder, criminal negligence causing death, failing to provide necessities of life, and assault. Crier is also charged with assault causing bodily harm.
The charges were laid in connection to the death of Anthony Joseph Raine, 19 months, whose body was found by a passerby outside the Good Shepherd Anglican Church on Friday. Police said they were able to determine that the boy had been placed there three days before.
Edmonton Police Staff Sgt. Dwayne Hunter told reporters on Monday afternoon that Crier was Raine’s father and that Mack is Crier’s girlfriend.
Hunter said that the cause of death was “head trauma” and that Raine was found with “bruises all over his body.”
“He was living a terrible life full of violence and one that is incredibly sad,” Hunter added.
“I’m a dad with three kids,” he said. “It weighs heavy on everyone.”
Hunter said police have “yet to determine a motive for this heinous crime.”
Hunter thanked members of the public and the media for providing more tips than he had ever before received. He also thanked the Edmonton Transit Service, which he says reported the presence of Mack and Crier on a bus.
Both were charged Monday and made brief court appearances. Their cases were put over to May 8 to allow them time to seek legal counsel.
The boy’s 19-year-old mother, Dalyce Raine, who is from the Louis Bull First Nation, is “absolutely devastated” by her son’s death, reports CTV Edmonton’s Jonathan Glasgow.
A memorial outside the church is growing, with flowers, teddy bears, and superhero toys collecting in the snow.
A public vigil for Anthony Raine will be held at the church on Tuesday.
Anglican Diocese of Edmonton Bishop Jane Alexander, who is attending a conference in London, U.K., called the boy’s death an “unbelievable tragedy.”
She called for prayers for the “repose of the soul of this beautiful little boy” and for those who know something to come forward, “so that healing may begin for all who knew him.”
