Teen accused of baby’s murder seeks mistrial over transcript of father’s police interview

Warning: Details in this article may be disturbing and graphic in nature.

The Alliston teen accused of murder following the Nov. 2024 death of her newborn baby is seeking a mistrial.

After more than a week of witness testimony, the teen’s defence lawyer Melina Macchia is asking Justice Angela McLeod to consider a mistrial application over the Crown’s cross-examination of the teen’s father that relied upon a faulty transcript of the man’s police interview.

• Trial begins for Ont. teen accused of newborn daughter’s murder

“The damage is done, Your Honour,” Macchia told the court, pointing to three portions of the transcript as another police officer translated what the man was telling investigators in his native tongue.

Macchia is arguing what the accused’s father told police and what was interpreted in the transcript differed following a review of the materials by another interpreter.

“Most of the conflict deals with what he says his daughter told him,” Macchia argued, calling the use of the transcript during his testimony “prejudicial to his answers” and an “unfair process” that mischaracterized what he told police.

The Crown argued the witness’ recorded police interview spoke for itself, while agreeing to adopt the newly acquired interpretation and transcript.

Macchia is arguing the trial cannot proceed because of the irreparable harm done during the Crown’s cross-examination of the accused’s father who was deemed a hostile witness subject to cross-examination by the prosecution.

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The teen, who was 16 at the time, was charged with first-degree murder following the discovery of the dead baby in the bathroom of her home. An autopsy concluded the baby had been stabbed. The newborn was found dead in a toilet by the teen’s grandmother. The teen cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Justice McLeod will hear the mistrial application starting on Friday.