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A Charlottetown woman accused of killing her infant daughter has pleaded guilty to infanticide instead of the first-degree murder charge that was originally laid against her — a charge she is eligible for because of her mental state at the time.
Cassie Marie Acorn, 40, appeared alongside her lawyer in Charlottetown on Monday afternoon to enter her guilty plea. Acorn was previously assessed by a psychiatrist to see if she could be held criminally responsible in the death of her child.
The Crown’s office told CBC News the report concluded she did have the capacity to be held responsible, but Acorn was suffering from depression and postpartum depression at the time, allowing her to plead guilty to the lesser charge of infanticide.
Under Canada’s Criminal Code, infanticide is when a female person causes the death of her newborn child, either by a wilful act or by omission, while her mind is disturbed due to recent childbirth or lactation.
No facts about the March death of three-month-old Winter Elizabeth Rose Acorn emerged in court Monday.
Those details will be shared when Acorn’s case is back in court in early January for sentencing.
Charlottetown police have said the case came to their attention when the IWK Health Centre in Halifax alerted them that an infant arrived at the children’s hospital with a fractured skull.
The baby died three days later, and police charged Acorn with first-degree murder the next month.
Acorn’s lawyer said they would not be seeking a pre-sentence report, but there was a lot of detailed information in her evaluation that Chief Provincial Court Judge Jeff Lantz could use for sentencing.
The maximum sentence for infanticide is five years in custody.
