Dad accused in girl’s death out on bail

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This article was published 26/02/2015 (3548 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Manitoba father accused of contributing to his young daughter’s death has been released on bail despite objections from the Crown.

Daniel Williams, 33, learned Thursday he would be returned to the community while the high-profile case remains before the courts and is the subject of two ongoing provincial probes.

A court-ordered ban prevents specific details of the bail hearing, along with provincial court Judge Kelly Moar’s reasons for decision, from being published.

Williams will be allowed to live with his mother in Peguis First Nation and be under a nightly 11 p.m. curfew. He must abstain from alcohol, not be alone with any children and report weekly to the local RCMP.

Kierra Elektra Williams was 21 months old when she died last July while living on Peguis. RCMP spent six months investigating before laying charges in January. They have not released any information about the circumstances of the child’s death.

Williams, the biological father, is charged with manslaughter. His wife, Vanessa Bushie, who is Kierra’s mother, is charged with second-degree murder. She remains in custody. Her 20-year-old daughter, Jasmine Bushie, is also charged with manslaughter. She was released on bail earlier this month with the consent of the Crown. Her conditions include having no contact with any children and a nightly curfew.

All three are facing an additional charge of failing to provide the necessities of life.

As the Free Press previously reported, Child and Family Services was involved with the family prior to Kierra’s death. The girl was returned home to her birth parents in the months prior, although further specifics have not been shared publicly by officials.

Within hours of the three arrests last month, the province launched two separate investigations.

Some investigations are automatically launched when children die in care, including a child-abuse investigation, designed in part to determine whether an individual’s name should be placed on the Provincial Child Abuse Registry, and another to assess the safety and risk to other children in the home.

The Office of the Children’s Advocate may also investigate if the child was in care or if the family had involvement with a Child and Family Services agency. The child-welfare system typically waits until a criminal investigation is complete before opening its own probes.

However, the results of both investigations will likely never be made public.

Government officials previously confirmed Kierra had a child-welfare file, but would not say what kind of services the girl received, from what agency, for how long or whether there are early indications child-protection safeguards failed.

www.mikeoncrime.com