Preliminary hearing set, not guilty plea entered in mother and daughter murder

CALGARY — The man charged in the deaths of a Calgary woman and her five-year-old daughter has entered a plea of not guilty in court.

Edward Downey, 46, faces two counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of Sara Baillie and her daughter Taliyah Marsman.

His lawyer, Gavin Wolch, entered the plea on Downey’s behalf and a preliminary hearing has been set for Aug. 14 to 25, 2017.

“There was some scheduling with the court with the officers who will testify, with the Crown, with us. It’s a matter of co-ordinating everybody’s schedules,” said Wolch.

Baillie, who was 34, was found dead in her northwest Calgary home on July 11 and an Amber Alert was issued for Taliyah. The little girl’s body was found three days later in a rural area east of Calgary.

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Police have said Downey knew Baillie and Taliyah, but have not said how.

Wolch said he is still waiting for more evidence.

“I don’t know what they have or what’s to come. There’s no knowns or unknowns. We have enough obviously to enter our election and to set a preliminary inquiry.”

Downey remains in custody but wasn’t required to make an appearance Thursday.

Wolch said no decision has been made about whether they will be asking for bail for their client.

He said it’s hard to say how well his client is doing.

“He’s got serious charges hanging over him,” said Wolch. “You’d have to ask him.”

Wolch had indicated in July he wanted to move quickly to trial and he was worried his client will be tried in the media and not in a courtroom.

— Follow @BillGraveland on Twitter

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press