Olive Oluwafemi's father charged in Calgary girl's death
CBC News | Posted: December 9, 2015 7:57 PM | Last Updated: December 10, 2015
4-year-old whose father charged with 2nd-degree murder had weeks-old injuries, police say
A four-year-old Calgary girl suffered injuries for weeks before her death in 2014, police allege after charging her father with second-degree murder.
Paramedics found Olive Rebekah Oluwafemi badly injured in her home on Dec. 19, 2014, after paramedics and police responded to reports of child in distress.
The girl was found in cardiac arrest and was not breathing when crews arrived. She died a short time later in hospital.
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Her father, 39-year-old Oluwatosin Oluwafemi of Keswick, Ont., was charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday.
The medical examiner deemed her death a homicide due to blunt force injuries. At that time, police said her parents were not being co-operative with investigators.
"We were initially told that Olive had fallen down the stairs," Staff Sgt. Colin Chisholm said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Injuries not an accident, say police
But her injuries were not an accident, police allege. Chisholm confirmed Wednesday that the medical examiner had found Olive suffered injuries for weeks before she died.
The family members, who had lived in Calgary for about two years, moved to Ontario within weeks of the girl's death.
With help from the York Regional Police Service, Oluwafemi was arrested in Ontario on Tuesday and flown back to Calgary.
He'll makes his next court appearance on Thursday.
Though Olive's mother continues to be uncooperative with the investigation, police say no other charges are pending.
Chisholm says it's a satisfying conclusion to a year-long investigation for the homicide unit.
"It goes to show people that these are extremely important investigations," said Chisholm. "We have a very vulnerable victim in this case. We have a four-year-old girl who nobody is apparently speaking for."