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Couple Accused of [ undisclosed ]
August 12, 2009 permalink
Here is another case that has the classic marks of false accusation. A seven-week-old girl, Aurora Breakthrough, is dead and the parents, both impoverished students from Bangladesh, are in jail. Over two weeks after the girl's death, prosecutors cannot say what the parents did, but are hoping an autopsy will reveal evidence justifying the arrests.
One of the abuses revealed by the Goudge inquiry was that within hours of the death of a child investigators approached bereaved parents asking trick questions designed to incriminate them, and when getting the answers they wanted, jailed the parents immediately. Judge Goudge suggested, as an act of humanity, that interrogation should be delayed past the bereavement period, even at the cost of loss of evidence. In the Aurora Breakthrough case, there was no respect for the parents, they were jailed almost immediately and have now been forbidden to talk to each other.
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Court forbids couple charged in baby death from talking to each other
Halifax pair to stay in jail until next court date in September
By STEVE BRUCE Court Reporter, Wed. Aug 12 - 12:40 PM
Pictures from other news reports:
A young Halifax couple accused of assaulting their infant daughter, who died later in hospital, have been prohibited from communicating with each other.
The Crown requested the order this morning, when lawyers appeared in Halifax provincial court on behalf of Ashiqur Rahman and Jane Elizabeth Gomes, both 23.
Just as they did two weeks ago, Mr. Rahman and Ms. Gomes chose to remain in the holding cells in the basement of the courthouse while duty counsel requested a three-week adjournment.
They return to court Sept. 2, possibly for a bail hearing. They'll remain in custody at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth.
The couple, former Acadia University computer science students originally from Bangladesh, have applied to Nova Scotia Legal Aid for full-time lawyers. Should they qualify, one would likely be represented by a legal aid staffer while the other would be given a certificate for a private lawyer.
Mr. Rahman and Ms. Gomes were arrested and charged with aggravated assault July 24 after staff at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax reported a serious case of child abuse.
Paramedics had gone to the couple's Gottingen Street apartment the night before in response to a call about a seven-week-old baby.
The infant, Aurora Breakthrough, died in hospital July 27.
It's expected that more serious charges could be laid against one or both parents, but that hasn't happened yet.
“The investigation continues,” Crown attorney Denise Smith said today outside court.
“Until such time as that investigation concludes, the charges will remain as they currently are.”
Asked if there's anything new in the probe, the prosecutor replied: “Nothing I can tell you.”
The authorities are still waiting for the autopsy report, she said.
A no-contact order “is fairly standard or commonplace in cases where two people are accused of the same crime,” Ms. Smith said.
“The reason is so that the persons don't have an opportunity to speak to one another and in any way hamper the prosecution of the matter or the ongoing investigation.”
(sbruce@herald.ca)
Source: Halifax Herald
Addendum: As of September 2, prosecutors are still holding the parents in jail while waiting for evidence.
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Parents of dead baby don't have lawyers yet
By STEVE BRUCE Court Reporter, Wed. Sep 2 - 4:01 PM
Nova Scotia Legal Aid hopes to have lawyers appointed soon for a young Halifax couple accused of assaulting their infant daughter, who died later in hospital.
Ashiqur Rahman and Jane Elizabeth Gomes, both 23, were transported to Halifax provincial court from the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth on Wednesday but were allowed to remain in the courthouse holding cells while a legal aid representative requested an adjournment until Oct. 14.
Peter Mancini told the court that the couple both qualify for legal aid. The plan, he said, is for the commission to provide a staffer for one of them and a private lawyer for the other.
Outside court, Mr. Mancini said it's not unusual for it to take "a little bit of time" to arrange counsel.
He said lawyers should be in place in time for pleas to be entered Oct. 14.
Mr. Rahman and Ms. Gomes were arrested July 24 and charged with aggravated assault after staff at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax reported a serious case of child abuse.
Paramedics had gone to the couple's Gottingen Street apartment the night before in response to a call about a seven-week-old baby.
The infant, Aurora Breakthrough, died July 27.
It's expected that more serious charges will be laid, but the Crown is still waiting for the autopsy report.
Mr. Mancini said he couldn't comment on how the couple, former Acadia University computer science students originally from Bangladesh, are holding up.
“I've just had brief conversations with them,” Mr. Mancini said.
Mr. Rahman and Ms. Gomes are banned from communicating with each other. They remain in custody.
(sbruce@herald.ca)
Source: Halifax Herald