Email
Print
Letter to Editor
ShareMother charged in murder of daughter makes court appearance in Nova Scotia
By The Canadian Press
Published: December 04, 2008 1:11 PM
A Nova Scotia woman charged with the premeditated killing of her daughter appeared in court Thursday to set dates for a trial that won’t likely begin until next fall.
Penny Boudreau, 34, wept throughout the 25-minute hearing and shook in her seat as about 20 relatives and friends of the 12-year-old girl she’s accused of murdering looked on in silence.
Lawyers in the high-profile case agreed to return to Nova Scotia Supreme Court next week for routine procedural matters.
Outside court, Crown attorney Paul Scovil said the hearing will involve unsealing material containing affidavits police filed when they sought a judge’s permission to use wire taps.
“In obtaining wire tap authorizations you need to have an affidavit from an officer saying why you need that,” Scovil told reporters.
“Obviously we have some evidence that was obtained through either wire tap or one-party consents.”
Boudreau is charged with the first-degree murder of her only child, Karissa, who she reported missing last January 27. Days later, she made a public appeal for help in finding her daughter as crews searched a nearby river and wooded area.
The distraught mother said she and her daughter had argued that day and went for a drive. She said she went into a store and left the girl in the car only to find Karissa gone when she returned.
The search ended more than a week later when a passerby found Karissa’s frozen remains on the bank of the LaHave River on the outskirts of Bridgewater.
Scovil said a trial wouldn’t likely start until October following hearings to review evidence and determine what is admissible.
The case is scheduled to return to court Monday, while dates will be set for future hearings on Jan. 30.
