Edmonton baby killer hires new lawyer forward of sentencing

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David Michael Moss has parted methods along with his lawyer months forward of sentencing for the brutal homicide of a seven-year-old woman.

Showing by way of video hyperlink from remand Friday, Moss mentioned he has retained Calgary lawyer Andrea Urquhart, changing defence counsel Rod Gregory, who represented him throughout his trial for the dying of Bella Rose Desrosiers. 

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Moss — who wore a blue correctional system jumpsuit, his hair in a bun — didn’t give a purpose for the swap. His sentencing listening to is about for Feb. 16, 2024.

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Moss was convicted of second-degree homicide for repeatedly slashing Desrosiers’ throat as her mom tucked her into mattress Could 18, 2020. Court docket of King’s Bench Steven Mandziuk rejected Moss’s not criminally accountable defence, discovering that whereas Moss was clearly psychotic, the psychosis was greater than seemingly brought on by Moss’s hashish use and sudden withdrawal, somewhat than a 2004 mind harm, as Moss claimed. 

Gregory mentioned he realized in August that Moss had cancelled his Authorized Assist certificates, which compensate attorneys for representing low-income shoppers. He requested to be taken off the file, which Mandziuk granted. 

Earlier than doing so, Mandziuk cautioned Moss in regards to the dangers of fixing attorneys forward of what’s anticipated to be a posh sentencing.

Sentencing is a “deep take a look at who you might be, the way you arrived on this state of affairs … your ethical guilt and the pursuits of the broader neighborhood as effectively,” Mandziuk mentioned. “It’s fairly a posh train.” 

Moss confirmed he understood.

Moss additionally requested a Gladue report, a doc that assesses how authorities coverage towards Indigenous folks could have contributed to an individual’s offending.

These convicted of second-degree homicide face an automated life sentence with no probability of parole for at the least 10 years.

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