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CALGARY — Police in Calgary have arrested a women in the death of an infant found inside a dumpster on Christmas Eve in 2017.
Nina Marie Albright, 21, has been charged with indignity to a human body and failure to provide the necessaries of life.
Police say she was the mother of the baby girl who was born earlier that day.
Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta said there could be more charges.
“Right now the evidence that we have supports the two charges that have been laid,” he said Thursday.
“We are certainly working with the prosecutor’s office to determine if charges will be amended to homicide.”
Autopsy results indicated that the girl had been breathing on her own at some point after she was born.
Police said they made an arrest after reviewing close circuit TV video and compared the pictures to a high-tech image of the mother and the infant created by DNA phenotyping — a process that can predict physical appearance and ancestry.
It was the first time Calgary police have used the technology.
The phenotype and the physical characteristics of the mother are close, Schiavetta said.
“We went back and reviewed hundreds of hours of CCTV and were eventually able to find a female that appeared to be in medical distress and also purchasing items which would be consistent after child birth,” he said.
“There was another individual with her. We believe the person in the video was her boyfriend at the time.”
Schiavetta said police are still trying to identify the father of the deceased infant through a DNA elimination process. It will be up to the Crown to determine if anyone else will be charged.
He said the arrest is a relief to many people in the city.
“This is a case that weighed heavily on the minds and hearts of not only investigators but the larger community” Schiavetta said.
“While particulars surrounding motive and intent will unfold as part of the court process, we hope this provides some level of closure for all involved.”
Albright is to return to court on Feb. 21.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2020
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Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press
