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Melfort toddler-murder trial stayed

Jul 9, 2015 | 6:21 AM

A trial that was set to reveal details into the death of a three-year-old from a hamlet near Nipawin has been stayed.

Shane Paschke was charged with second-degree murder about a year after the toddler, Roudy Bourque, died in December of 2012.  Bourque was the son of the woman Paschke was living with at the time.

A stay of proceedings doesn’t necessarily mean a trial won’t happen, but it does mean it’s on hold at present. Commonly, the court proceedings will not resume. At present, the second-degree charge has also been stayed.

Paschke was set to head into a four-week trial in October, by judge and jury.

Previous reports from the RCMP stated Bourque was taken to Nipawin from the hamlet of Garrick after police were called about a child in medical distress, but couldn’t be airlifted to Saskatoon because of freezing rain that night.

Bourque died in Saskatoon hospital on Dec. 7, 2012.

An autopsy revealed Bourque died as a result of an injury caused by blunt-force trauma to the head.

Paschke was released on bail in December of 2013 with a number of conditions.

paNOW has contacted Paschke’s lawyer, Mark Brayford, for comment on the stay of proceedings. He’s not available at this time.

claskowski@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @chelsealaskowsk