Unavailability of witness causes rescheduling of trial

The December trial for a 31year-old woman accused of leaving two toddlers in a freezing car last winter will have to be rescheduled after it was cancelled Friday during a hearing in Lethbridge provincial court.

The trial was set for Dec. 11-12, but the judge agreed to cancel it after he was told a Crown witness would be unavailable. The matter will be back in court Sept. 29 to schedule a new trial date, likely sometime in 2018.

The accused, along with a 25year-old woman, were charged in December with failing to provide the necessaries of life after police responded to a call about an unattended child crying inside a locked vehicle parked outside of a bar in downtown Lethbridge. Police said at the time the outside temperature was about -18 C and the vehicle was not running.

Police broke a window to get into the vehicle, and found a second young child under a pile of clothes. Both children were taken to hospital but didn’t sustain any serious or lasting injuries.

Two women were found in a nearby bar and arrested. Video surveillance shows the women had been in the bar for more than an hour.

The younger woman is expected to resolve her charge without going to trial. Her next court appearance is set for Sept. 28 when her lawyer is expected to take a step.

Neither accused can be named under a court-ordered publication ban.