Justice minister responds to delays by police in disclosing Edmonton baby's death

Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley is being guarded in her response to news that Edmonton police waited almost two years before telling the public about the death of an Edmonton baby, or the charges against the man responsible.

"There were peculiarities with the length of time and the process in this particular case,"Ganleysaid Monday when asked about the case. "But those operational decisions are generally going to be made by the individual police service."

• Edmonton man, 22, pleads guilty in death of two-month-old girl

Ganley said she couldn't comment further since the case is still before the courts.

Two-month-old Raelyn Supernant died in August 2016. That same month,Brandon JamesCalahoowascharged with aggravated assault in connection with the baby's death.

The charge was upgraded to second-degree murder following an autopsy about six months later.

Edmonton police did not make public news about the baby's death or Calahoo's charges until April 26, 2018.

On that day, Calahoo pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death.

Calahoo, 22, admitted he shook the two-month-old girl hard enough to cause significant brain damage.

"The long timeline and the long delay there resulted in an anomaly where there was some accidental oversight and a press release wasn't issued," police spokesperson Cheryl Voordenhout said last week. "The press release fell through the cracks."

Calahoo is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29.