Durham police have charged a 35-year-old woman who was caring for a young boy when he died in Bowmanville last year.
Terrel Vidal, 4, was found without vital signs at the Ireland Street home of family friend Tanya Berlass on Aug. 28, 2013.
The Toronto boy’s death was deemed a murder after an autopsy revealed he had died of blunt force trauma.
“She knows that the child died,” said Moishe Reiter, Berlass’s lawyer. “She has no idea what caused it and she has no information to provide.”
The suspect appeared in court by video on a charge of failing to provide the necessaries of life.
Police said she didn’t necessarily cause the injury that killed Terrel, but she’s accused of failing to protect the child while in her care.
“The centre of forensic sciences as well determined that this incident was not the result of a slip, fall or accident,” said Durham police Sgt. Bill Calder.
Investigators said Terrel’s mother had left her son with Berlass while out of the country, and there were several people in the home at the time, including other children.
Friends and family posted $20,000 bail for Berlass’s release. She must stay 100 metres away from Terrel’s family.
She’s due back in court on March 24