Karl Wesley McKay Murder of Phoenix Sinclair - Nov '08
Bail denied to man accused in 5-year-old's death Last Updated: Friday, November 9, 2007 | 1:30 PM CT CBC News Manitoba man accused of killing five-year-old Phoenix Sinclair has been denied bail. Karl Wesley McKay is charged with first-degree murder, failing to provide the necessities of life, forcible confinement and assault with a weapon in the death of Phoenix, who was the daughter of his girlfriend, Samantha Kematch. Kematch, 25, faces the same charge and was denied bail in a previous hearing. Justice Murray Sinclair denied bail to McKay, 44, Friday morning. "Well, it's very disappointing," said Mike Cook, one of McKay's defence lawyers. "Mr. McKay had great hopes that perhaps he would be released on very strict bail conditions, although he was a realist — he knows that given the nature of the charges, it certainly wasn't going to be an easy application." Kematch and McKay are scheduled to go on trial for the murder in November 2008. Phoenix Sinclair's remains were found near a garbage dump on the First River Cree Nation in April 2006. The little girl had been in and out of foster care for most of her life. RCMP say Phoenix was abused and killed in June 2005, three months after Child and Family Services returned her to the custody of her birth mother and closed her case. At the time of Phoenix's death, officials had lost track of her. No one outside her immediate family knew she was missing until RCMP received a tip the following March. Phoenix Sinclair's death sparked a number of reviews into Manitoba's Child and Family Services system. A public inquiry into her death will begin once the criminal case has concluded. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2007/11/09/mckay-bail.html?ref=rss

Trial in death of Phoenix Sinclair begins Module body Wed Nov 5, 10:57 AM The trial of two people charged in the death of five-year-old Phoenix Sinclair begins Wednesday in Winnipeg. Phoenix's biological mother, Samantha Kematch, and her former boyfriend, Karl McKay, have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges. The child's remains were found in March 2006 in a shallow grave on the Fisher River reserve, 150 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Police said they believed she had been dead for months before anyone reported her missing. She had been in and out of foster care since birth. Her death sparked a massive review of Manitoba's child welfare system. A public inquiry into the circumstances of her death will not take place until the trial is over. The trial is expected to last two months. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/081105/canada/winnipeg_sinclair_trial_1