deadmonton 2005 - olivia marie talbot
Olivia Marie Talbot, 19, was shot to death November 23rd, 2005.
Jared Eugene Baker, 19, was charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm during the commission of an indictable offence.
It was Edmonton's 34th homicide of the year, the third in the metro area in five days.
Paramedics responded to a 911 call at a townhouse at 21-1765 Millwoods Road East shortly before midnight. An unconscious woman was found just inside the entrance. By the time she was moved into the ambulance she had died.
City homicide detectives taped off the immediate area. Of interest to detectives was a dark-coloured Toyota Celica neighbours said they had never seen before.
A police dog was brought in but the murder weapon, later determined to be a rifle, was not recovered.
Olivia Talbot was six months pregnant with her first child. She died from five gunshot wounds -- three in the head and two in the body. Paramedics tried to save the life of the fetus (who was not injured) but they were unsuccessful.
Neighbours interviewed by local media said they heard a loud bang, followed by a man's screams and several more bangs shortly before midnight. One person described seeing a man leave the townhouse just after the shots were fired and saw him drive away in a car.
The day after the murder, police announced that an arrest had been made.
Charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm during the commission of an indictable offence was Jared Eugene Baker, 19 (left).
Baker and Talbot were friends since childhood and had lived just two blocks apart. Police say they were not romantically involved at the time of the shooting but they had dated briefly in junior high and remained friends.
Talbot's boyfriend and father of the child, Lane Griffith, was working out of town as a rig camp attendant. The day of the murder was their third anniversary. They first met on a bus at Mill Woods Town Centre. The child, a boy due on Valentine's Day, 2006 was to be named Lane Jr.
At his first court appearance, Baker was ordered to undergo psychological testing to see whether he is fit to stand trial and whether he might have been not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder at the time of the alleged slaying. The request had been made jointly by Baker's lawyer and a Crown prosecutor.
In the days after Talbot's murder, family members spurred on a debate over the rights of the unborn child, insisting that murder charges be laid in the death of the fetus.
Griffith's sister, Tammy Brownlee, gave birth to her own son Nicholas when she was only 26 1/2 weeks pregnant. She said that as Olivia was over 27 weeks pregnant her baby was more than viable and his death should be classed as a murder.
Saskatchewan MP Maurice Vellacott, a member of a pro-life parliamentary caucus, said he would press for a law to protect unborn victims of violence.
Vellacott also said he thinks Michael White, who has been charged with second-degree murder and offering an indignity to a dead body in the 2005 death of his pregnant wife Liana White, should be charged with double homicide.
In November 2005 Alberta Justice Minister Ron Stevens introduced legislation allowing for children to sue their mothers for injuries sustained during car crashes while still in the womb. Alberta was the first province to introduce such legislation.
Ongoing Developments
In June 2006 Mary Talbot, Olivia's mother, was in Ottawa to lend assistance for a proposed federal law that would see two murder charges laid when a fetus is killed along with its mother.
"It's not just a piece of paper they're saying no to," she told the Edmonton Sun. "It's real, live people. I want to remind them that that's why I'm here. I want to see this passed."
While a subcommittee that dealt with private member's bills had already ruled the bill "non-votable" on the basis that it was unconstitutional, the bill went before another House committee.
The bill was slated to be debated later in the month in the House, said Vegreville-Wainwright Tory MP Leon Benoit, who introduced the private member's bill.
"It's time the Canadian Parliament looks at this and recognizes the need to protect pregnant women against violence," Benoit said.
Talbot said that had Olivia survived the shooting but lost her baby no murder charge would have been laid.
"I held that little boy. I saw two people in the casket, not one," she said. "For me, it's black and white ... I just can't understand why they can't see it that way."
Talbot said if the bill is killed this month, she will still seek alternative avenues.
"I won't give up."
The proposed law was quashed.
On October 17th, 2006 Jared Eugene Baker appeared in court for what was to be a preliminary hearing to determine whether there was enough evidence to warrant a trial.
In a surprise move in front of a packed courtroom, Baker waived his right to the hearing and was committed to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of an indictable offence.
When asked by the judge if he was certain Baker said “it was correct” that he was waiving his right.
The emotion-filled courtroom was populated by family and friends of Olivia Talbot and supporters of Eugene Baker.
Lane Griffith, Talbot's fiance and father of the boy she was carrying, began crying when he saw Baker in court.
Baker was set to appear in court December 15th, 2006 to set a trial date.