Two adults accused in the first-degree murder of seven-year-old Katelynn Sampson have been committed to stand trial on the charges.
A judge made the decision Monday in the case of Donna Irving and Warren Johnson at the completion of a 49-day preliminary hearing. Details of the judge's decision are unreportable due to a publication ban.
The two accused will be back in court on May 19.
Irving was the child's legal guardian. Johnson was her boyfriend.
Police responded on Aug. 3, 2009 to Irving's apartment in the Queen Street West and Lansdowne Avenue area. Irving had called 911 and said Katelynn had choked.
Officers noted at the time that the little girl had been covered with marks on her body. One homicide detective said they were the worst such injuries he had ever seen.
Bernice Sampson, Katelynn's mother, had surrendered custody of her daughter to Irving while she worked out certain personal issues. The two women had been friends for a decade.
The case triggered some controversy as advocates noted that no background check had been performed on Irving, who has children of her own, before she was awarded guardianship of Katelynn.
No allegations against Irving and Johnson have been proven in a court of law.
