Police chief says releasing child killing details still an option in Crown dispute

Edmonton Chief of Police Warren Driechel speaks during a press conference in Edmonton, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Edmonton police have started mending fences with Crown prosecutors after a high profile public dispute in the case of a dead child, but the conflict may not be over.

Chief Warren Driechel says police are waiting to see what sentence is imposed before deciding whether to take the unusual step of releasing more details of the killing of the eight-year-old girl so the public can determine if justice has been served.

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“I don’t want to commit to one path or another right now, because we’ve got a lot of time to figure this out,” he said in an interview Wednesday.

“Hopefully we never get there.”

A 29-year-old woman charged with second-degree murder pleaded guilty last month to a reduced charge of manslaughter.

Court heard the girl faced chronic abuse and neglect before she died of head trauma in 2023. Her body was found in a hockey bag in the back of a truck on the Samson Cree Nation in Maskwacis, south of Edmonton.

Driechel said police first charged the woman with first-degree murder and a judge reduced it to second-degree murder. Police later learned prosecutors had agreed to a plea deal for manslaughter and an eight-year sentence.

He said police spent several weeks trying to find out why prosecutors were agreeing to a deal and a sentence they felt didn’t match the crime.

“Ultimately, that communication failed,” Driechel said.

“I think it’s important to note the family didn’t know plea was being done either ... that to me signals that there could be probably some change in what occurs here.”

A prosecutor told court there is no agreed sentencing recommendation. Driechel said the woman is to be sentenced early next year.

He said the force penned the letter as a last resort to highlight poor communications between prosecutors and police.

The problem has existed for a long time, the chief said, but the nature of the girl’s death was so egregious police had to go public.

“Given what I know (about) the circumstances (of the case), if faced with this a hundred times, I’d probably do it a hundred times over,” he said.

“This was a fairly polarizing, drastic step. And it’s not something we did lightly ... what we’re just trying to do is just create some dialogue and change.”

The letter did create debate over police and prosecutor roles in the justice system.

The Canadian Association of Crown Counsel recently joined a list of the letter’s critics.

“Either the (Edmonton Police Service) has demonstrated a profound lack of understanding of the independent roles of police and prosecutors in Canada or the EPS has engaged in a blatant attempt to bully Alberta prosecutors,” the association said in a statement last month.

“Whatever the underlying cause or motivation, the Canadian Association of Crown Counsel considers this action by the EPS to be shocking.”

Driechel said he has received support from many people, including members of the girl’s family.

Court heard the girl, who can’t be identified because of a publication ban, had been living with the woman since September 2022.

The woman had been drinking alcohol and using methamphetamine the night that the child was found lying on the floor, bleeding next to a hole in the wall.

Court was told the woman didn’t call 911 and instead asked acquaintances for help.

An autopsy showed the girl had previous, multiple broken bones and injuries. She also had sepsis because of an untreated infected broken tooth, which reduced her chances of surviving the head injury.

In total, five people were charged in the death.

Two men pleaded guilty to causing an indignity to a body and were sentenced to nearly three years. They were given credit for time served and released.

Two others face charges of being an accessory to murder and causing an indignity to a body. 

Driechel said the force has been meeting with prosecutors since their public spat, trying to find a way to communicate better.

Some federal prosecutors have been involved in the meetings, he added.

“We recognize that the police and the prosecutors have a very important role to play within the justice system,” he said.

Police also recognize the system is overwhelmed, he said, and prosecutors can’t respond to police about every case.

There are ways to improve, said the chief.

“We each have our own data systems, for instance. So could (prosecutors) push data to us when a charge is withdrawn or stayed or pleaded down ... so we can do an analysis and reflect?

“That’s important for us. We just want to ensure there’s transparency across all systems.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2025.

Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press