Murder Charge Laid In Toddler’s Death

A new charge has been laid in connection with the death of a toddler in Saint John earlier this year.

Madison (Karrson) Bennett was charged with second-degree murder in Saint John provincial court on Tuesday.

Bennett, who appeared by video link, was already charged with criminal negligence causing death and breach of probation in relation to the child’s death.

Court documents allege that Bennett, 23, put a Ping-Pong ball in the child’s mouth which caused their death.

Police have said they received a call about a child not breathing at an uptown address on the evening of Sept. 18.

They said the two-year-old was rushed to the hospital and later airlifted to the children’s hospital in Halifax but died from their injuries the next day.

Police said a 23-year-old was arrested on Sept. 28 as a result of their ongoing investigation, which also involved assistance from the Fredericton Police Force.

Bennett, who remains in custody, elected trial by judge and jury on the charges of criminal negligence causing death and breach of probation.

“It’ll be duplicitous at some point,” his lawyer, David Lutz, told the court on Tuesday.

Speaking after Bennett’s appearance, Lutz explained that his client could not be convicted on all of the charges.

“It’s called the Kienapple Principle and that’s based upon a Supreme Court of Canada case that says you can only be convicted once on the same set of facts,” said Lutz.

“If he were convicted of second-degree murder then the others would be dropped. If he were convicted of criminal negligence causing death then the other charges would be dropped.”

“He could not be convicted on both of them but he could be convicted of violating his probation,” added Lutz.

All three charges have been transferred to the Court of Queen’s Bench with a new court date not likely to be set until February, said Lutz. Bennett was remanded into custody.