Edmonton police urge calm after threats to women in child abuse case
Police here are asking the public to temper their emotions after two women were charged with attempted murder in a case that a detective called “shocking.”
Police responded to a call from a babysitter concerned about children left in her care Dec. 16, 2017.
When officers arrived, they found five children under the age of 10 “in what can be best described as a shocking environment and physical state,” Det. Aubrey Zalaski, with the Edmonton police child protection section, told a press briefing Wednesday.
Two adult women, ages 23 and 24 — whose names are protected by a court-ordered publication ban, as are the identities of the five children they are alleged to have abused — “were both charged with numerous criminal offences including attempted murder, aggravated assault, abandonment of a child, criminal negligence and unlawful confinement.”
The 24-year-old woman is facing another charge of failing to provide the necessaries of life.
All five children were taken to the Stollery Children’s Hospital and three were immediately released, while two others were admitted and treated for “serious injuries,” said Zalaski, but have since been released.
“All five children have been placed in safe living environments and have received an immense amount of love and support from a variety of people,” Zalaski said.
While police have provided sparse details on the case, the two women have been threatened.
“It’s common to have feelings of shock and anger, and while that is acceptable and normal, those feelings should not result in criminal activity or retribution,” Zalaski said, warning police will investigate threats.
Zalaski praised the babysitter for contacting police, and Becci Watson of the Zebra Child Protection Centre, which advocates for and supports child abuse victims, reiterated that the public should feel safe in bringing allegations of child abuse forward. “Early intervention helps set a child on the path towards recovery,” Watson said Wednesday.