Hearing For Newborn's Death

USPA NEWS - Two relatives of a young Halifax-area mother are taking their case to the province's highest court, electing to be tried by a Supreme Court judge alone. Sukhpreet Singh, 24, and his wife Ramandeep Kaur, 27, face charges of concealing the body of a child, indignity to human remains and obstruction-related offences.

Their choice of judge-alone trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court marks the next stage in a case that began in May.The investigation was set in motion on May 22nd, when a 23 year old woman was transported from a Clayton Park apartment to hospital in life-threatening condition. Medical staff determined she had given birth shortly beforehand, but no infant accompanied her.That absence triggered a police search. On May 24th, two days later, the newborn's remains were discovered in a wooded area off Old Coach Road, roughly 10 kilometres from the apartment.The mother never regained consciousness. She died in hospital on May 27th, several days after being admitted, and police were never able to interview her. Singh and Kaur, who are relatives of the woman, were subsequently charged.

Earlier in the proceedings, the Crown indicated that further serious charges remained possible while medical examiner findings were still coming in. To date, no murder or manslaughter charges have been publicly reported, and neither the cause nor the manner of death for the mother or the newborn has been released.