Two charged in 2024 northern Ontario infant death

A 40-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman face second-degree murder charges after a baby died last October in Burpee Township. OPP arrested them on Thursday.

Ontario Provincial Police have charged a man and a woman in connection with an infant’s death in Burpee Township on Manitoulin Island last October.

On October 1, 2024, just before 9 a.m., OPP and Sudbury-Manitoulin Paramedic Services responded to a residence following reports of an unresponsive infant.

“The infant was transported to a local hospital by paramedics and later pronounced deceased,” police said in a news release Friday.

Arrests made nearly 10 months later

After an extensive investigation, a 40-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman, both from Burpee Township, were arrested on Thursday. They each have been charged with second-degree murder.

The case was initially treated as a medical emergency, but forensic testing led the OPP criminal investigation branch to take over the investigation in May 2025. Police are working with the Office of the Chief Coroner and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service for the investigation.

No further details about the circumstances of the infant’s death have been released.

Authorities confirmed the investigation is ongoing and urged anyone with information to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

Both accused remain in custody and are set to appear in court in Greater Sudbury on Aug. 14.