Amanda Oickle and Andrew Cunningham made another brief court appearance in Liverpool on Feb. 2, but their case was again put forward to a later date.
Oickle is charged with failing to obtain assistance in childbirth and hiding the body of a child. Cunningham is also charged with hiding the body of a child, and breaching his conditional sentence.
In Oct., it is alleged that Oickle gave birth in her apartment, and the baby died either in childbirth or shortly after. It was also alleged the couple hid the body in their apartment for five days, before bringing it to the hospital.
Defense lawyer Francene Romney said she has serious concerns about Oickle’s capacity to understand the charges. Oickle’s lawyer asked for more time to carry out an assessment.
Judge Jim Burrill asked if she was seeking a court ordered evaluation on mental fitness, but Romney said she wanted to explore other options first.
Cunningham also appeared that day, but his lawyer, Bob Chipman, asked that his case be put over as well so they could be tried in tandem. He also asked to hold the breach of conditional sentence charge until after the first trial.
Both defense lawyers also said they were waiting for further DNA evidence to be processed.
Prosecutor Tony Brown had no objections to moving the case forward.
Oickle and Cunningham will appear again at the Liverpool courthouse on March 23.
nmoase@theadvance.ca
Infant death case pushed forward
Concerns raised over mental capacity
- Rate
- Top of the page
