CANADA • Arto Howley 12 months old / Accused: Maria McFerran ~ Coquitlam BC

Baby boy dies suddenly at unlicensed B.C. daycare
Jan. 19, 2011 5:54 PM PT

Police in Coquitlam, B.C. are investigating the sudden death of a one-year-old boy at an unlicensed home daycare on Monday.

RCMP are working with the BC Coroners Service to determine the circumstances surrounding the child's death.

Police say the incident was reported immediately, but they are not releasing any further information about the death out of respect for the boy's family.

"We understand that this incident is going to raise a lot of fears for parents and a lot of questions from the public," Const. Kristina Biro said in a news release.

"We are committed to finding answers and we will be releasing information related to this investigation as it is safe and appropriate to do so."

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110119/bc_daycare_death_110119/20110119?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

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Boy's death at daycare investigated
January 21, 2011

Questions abound over what happened at a Coquitlam daycare where a one-year-old boy died suddenly Monday.

Coquitlam RCMP were called at 11:40 a.m. to a home-based daycare in River Springs, and the unlicensed childcare facility has since been closed for the investigation. A police cruiser remained parked outside a home in the 1300 block of Shaughnessy Street as late as Thursday.

The boy's death is automatically considered suspicious, according to RCMP Const. Kristina Biro.

"The death of an infant is tragic and very serious," she said. "Police only get one chance to conduct an investigation, so we treat everything as suspicious until we have reason not to.

"We're conducting a thorough investigation."

The B.C. Coroners Service was also called to investigate, and an autopsy has been performed. Biro said police do not have the results of the autopsy and do not know when to anticipate the results.

Integrated Homicide Investigation Team members, however, are not among those looking into the case.

Biro would not say whether charges are being considered. "It's very early in the investigation, and I'm not going to speculate outcomes," she said.

Apart from those details, Mounties remain mum.

"We understand that this incident is going to raise a lot of fears for parents and a lot of questions from the public," Biro said Thursday.

"I spoke to the investigators this morning and they said no other information would be released in the next couple of days. There's no other details to be discussed at this time."

RCMP investigators would not reveal the name of the facility, and stated that police are not investigating any other complaints related to the daycare.

A search of daycares in the 1300 block of Shaughnessy Street, however, yielded one hit: Rattle-N-Roll Daycare, a family facility run by Maria McFarren.

Fraser Health spokesperson Joan Marshall said Rattle-N-Roll does not have a licence to offer childcare.

Read more: http://www.thenownews.com/news/story.html?id=4143531#ixzz1BnUVzElB

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Daycare searched after child's death
January 26, 2011

Coquitlam RCMP executed a search warrant this weekend at the Shaughnessy Street home where a one-year-old boy died under the supervision of an unlicensed daycare.

The search of the home began Saturday night and by Sunday morning Mounties were seen removing several large items from the home and putting them into police vehicles. All of the items, however, were covered with white blankets which concealed what the objects of interest to investigators were.

Coquitlam RCMP spokeswoman Const. Kristina Biro told The Tri-City News Tuesday after meeting with investigators that more details on the nature of the Mounties' investigation into the child's death would likely be released later in the week.

The one-year-old boy died suddenly at the Rattle-N-Roll Daycare at 1312 Shaughnessy Street near David Avenue on Jan.17.

An autopsy was done within three days of the boy's death but Biro said Tuesday that results from it would likely not be known to police for several weeks yet.

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Coquitlam daycare operator now charged with manslaughter following infant’s death
March 9, 2012


RCMP shown investigating the sudden death of an infant at the unlicenced Rattle-N-Roll daycare at
1312 Shaughnessy Street in Coquitlam on Jan. 17, 2011. Daycare operator Maria McFerran now faces
four charges, including manslaughter, in relation to the death of one-year-old Arto Howley.
Photograph by: Jason Payne , PROVINCE

Coquitlam daycare operator Maria McFerran has had a fourth charge — manslaughter — added to three previous charges in connection with the death of Arto Howley, a one-year-old infant at her Rattle-N-Roll daycare.

The manslaughter charge comes in addition to three previously announced charges: criminal negligence causing death, failure to provide the necessaries of life and obstruction of justice.

On Jan. 17, 2011, police were called to McFerran’s unlicensed daycare on Shaughnessy Street where the infant died.

Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Jamie Chung said earlier that the case has been “devastating” and difficult on a number of fronts.

“Charge approval is an important milestone in what has been a devastating incident for the victim’s family and a difficult file for even our most seasoned investigators and victim services workers,” Chung said at a Jan. 9 press conference where the three initial charges (not the manslaughter charge) were announced.


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