CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A P.E.I. woman who was charged with a third count of infanticide after police found skeletal remains in a shed had her case adjourned Tuesday.
Shannon Dawn Rayner, 40, made a brief appearance before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown on one count of infanticide and one count of concealing the body of a child.
Defence lawyer Thane MacEachern ask for an adjournment and told the court he had just received the preliminary disclosure of evidence.
Rayner has been in custody since her arrest last week and arrived in court with her hands and feet shackled.
As she sat at the defence table, Rayner looked straight ahead and showed little emotion while the proceedings were underway.
Rayner pleaded guilty in April to two counts of infanticide dating back to 2014 and 2016, along with an unrelated theft charge.
Charlottetown police found those bodies at Rayner’s residence in September.
Rayner was initially also charged with two counts of disposing of a child’s body with intent to conceal the fact it had been delivered and one count of breaching an undertaking.
Those charges were stayed after Rayner entered the guilty pleas.
A court-ordered mental health assessment was delayed several months with Douglas eventually issuing a new order.
When it was completed, the assessment report included the opinion Rayner didn’t meet the condition of being not criminally responsible.
Douglas found Rayner was fit to stand trial.
A pre-sentence report was ordered and sentencing on the first two infanticide charges was scheduled for June 5.
With the new charges, Charlottetown police Deputy Chief Brad MacConnell said the remains found Friday are being taken to Halifax for a forensic autopsy.
MacConnell said he hopes the autopsy will help determine the baby’s gender, how long it has been dead and the cause of death.
Rayner’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 16 on the new charges.
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