A Saskatoon prosecutor objected to a month’s long delay in the case against a Kindersley mother charged with killing her baby.
Crown Attorney Dan Dahl told the court on May 28 that he was opposed to the defense’s request for a delay until June 30 in the case against Teenie Rose Steer, 28.
Steer’s lawyer, Barb Degenstein, asked Judge Lua Gibb for the adjournment.
This is the fifth adjournment since Steer was arrested Feb. 25, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused delays and adjournments of cases in courts across the province and the Saskatchewan Trial Lawyers Association has said they are concerned with the backlog the pandemic is creating in the court system. A 2016 Supreme Court ruling called Jordan’s Decision said that in order to protect a defendant’s constitutional rights to a timely trial, provincial court cases must be heard within 18 months after charges are laid or the charges can be dropped.
Court cases for non-custody accused and docket proceedings at circuit courts in the province were adjourned until after May 31 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bail hearings and sentencing for in-custody accused have continued by telephone and video conferencing at the 13 permanent court locations in Saskatchewan that have remained open.
Steer is charged with second-degree murder in connection to her baby’s death.
According to RCMP, they responded to a report of an infant in cardiac arrest on Sept. 27, 2018, and life-saving efforts by both EMS and hospital doctors were unsuccessful. The RCMP said that an autopsy the next day uncovered information that led investigators to believe the death was suspicious in nature and major crimes took over the investigation. The RCMP haven’t released details about the information discovered.
Steer remains in custody at the Pine Grove Correctional Centre in Prince Albert, Sask.
The charges against Steer haven't been proven in court.
Steer is now scheduled to appear in Saskatoon Provincial Court on June 16.
