Toronto mother now facing murder charge in death of four-month old baby

Toronto police say they have charged a mother with second-degree murder following the death of her infant, who was found with critical injuries in midtown Toronto last week.

The child was located by officers at a residential building in the Roselawn Avenue and Marlee Avenue area after the baby's father called police to say the four-month-old was missing.

The child was rushed to hospital with critical injuries where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Police previously charged the baby boy’s mother with failing to provide the necessaries of life.

Investigators said Monday that following an autopsy, 30-year-old Karessa Edwards has now been charged with second-degree murder.

Police say the baby boy's death is now considered the city's 79th homicide of the year and the homicide unit has taken over the investigation.

Former Toronto homicide detective Mark Mendelson told CP24 the initial charge laid against the baby’s mother of failing to provide the necessaries of life is “wide encompassing in terms of what that may or may not be.”

But he said that cases involving the unexplained death of a child typically “hinge” on the results of an autopsy conducted by a specialized pediatric forensic pathologist.

“And obviously the results of that, that examination, you know, brought forth information that would lead to the cause and the mechanism of death,” Mendelson, who is not involved in the case, told CP24.

Mendelson added that it will likely take some time before the exact circumstances of the baby’s death are widely known, especially with a publication ban in place.

A baby has died after what Toronto police are calling a 'suspicious incident' in the city’s midtown area.