A judge has remanded a woman charged with-second degree murder in the death of a seven-year-old girl into custody following a brief court appearance Monday morning.
Donna Irving, 29, will reportedly next appear in court on August 15.
Police arrested Irving on Sunday after Katelynn Sampson was found dead in the woman's apartment.
Irving was granted custody of Sampson in January while the girl's birth mother dealt with personal problems.
Irving had been a friend of Katelynn's mother for about 10 years.
Police say Irving called 911 at about 2:30 a.m. and said the girl had choked to death in her apartment at 105 West Lodge Avenue, in the Queen Street West and Lansdowne Avenue area.
However, Det. Sgt. Steve Ryan alleged it was clear to officers and emergency medical services personnel who arrived on the scene that the girl had not choked.
"I can't give you the specifics, just that she was assaulted throughout her entire body," Ryan told reporters at a news conference on Sunday afternoon.
"It's the work of the devil, really is what it is," Ryan said.
An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday.
Ryan said Irving has four children of her own. Two young boys live with her and two older children may be in the custody of Children's Aid, he said.
However, only Irving and the girl were in the apartment at the time of the incident.
Police questioned a man who lives with Irving in the apartment but he is not a suspect in the case, Ryan said.
The girl's mother, Bernice Sampson, went to the west-end apartment Sunday in an attempt to see her daughter's body.
"Katelynn was a wonderful daughter," Sampson told CTV Toronto. "She was happy, she was doing good, or so I thought, and now she's not with me."
The death is Toronto's 39th homicide of the year.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Matet Nebres
