Sundre RCMP says that the mother of a nine-year-old girl who was found dead inside a vehicle on a rural road near the community has been charged with first degree murder in the death.
Laura Coward, 47, has been formally charged in connection with the death of her daughter Amber Lucius.
Lucius’ body was found on September 2 and Coward was found in the vicinity of the vehicle and arrested later on that same day.
According to police, she was to appear in Didsbury Provincial Court for one count of break and enter and commit theft and one count of abduction in contravention of a custody order.
Those charges were replaced with the charge of first degree murder.
Mark Daoust, duty counsel for Coward, said that she currently does not have a lawyer and has applied for legal aid to help her in that regard. "At this point in time, the matter went over to October 6, that's for her to get counsel in place. She has applied for a legal aid lawyer, so it will take her some time to get that person in place in terms of bail and moving the matter forward."
RCMP spokesperson Garrett Woolsey said during a media conference that they became appraised of the situation when a 911 call came in on September 1.
He said that the Major Crime Unit from Calgary was brought in along with a team of 35 investigators, RCMP specialists, and forensic units.
The cause of Lucius’ death has not been released, but Woolsey says it confirmed that it was a homicide.
"The manner of death has been determined to be of the nature of a homicide."
Woolsey said that a lot of the details about the death are still part of the investigation and can't be released. "It has been somewhat of a forensically challenging case."
Amber's father Duane also attended the hearing and released a statement, saying that his daughter was a lot of fun. He also urged all parents to spend more time with their children and never take them for granted.
Coward's next court date will take place at the Calgary Court Centre next month.
