Ontario mother charged with first-degree murder in death of her two-year-old son

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – An Ontario woman was charged with first-degree murder Tuesday after her two-year-old son was found dead with “obvious signs of physical trauma.”

Police said officers were called to an apartment building in Mississauga, Ont., around 2:45 p.m. on Monday, where they found the toddler’s body.

The woman also has a six-month-old daughter, but police said she was unharmed.

The children’s mother, 27-year-old Russom Tesfamar Yordanos, was arrested at the scene.

Yordanos appeared in a Brampton, Ont., court on Tuesday, covering her face with her hands as she arrived.

Her lawyer said she appeared “very shaken.”

“She seems very quiet, very demure and obviously very shaken by what’s going on,” Gary Batasar said outside court. “She’s new to the criminal justice system and this is certainly something that is going to take some time to work through.”

Batasar suggested investigators would be looking into whether the woman may have suffered from postpartum depression.

“Postpartum depression does not fit within the confines of laying a first-degree murder charge. I suspect as the matter travels through the court system, it will not be a first-degree murder charge,” he said.

Batasar also cautioned the public against a rush to judgment in the case.

“It’s unfortunate, there is a dead child, there’s no doubt about that. The public is concerned about that, but there’s also a lot of other underlying issues that we have to get to the root of,” he said.

“We’re going to look at the facts, the circumstances surrounding the charge, not the emotional reaction of the public.”