Court sees interrogation videos of police pressing father to confess in infant's death

Chelsea Kemp · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 9:39 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

A Brandon tribunal saw hours of video Thursday showing a constabulary interrogation on the day Keifer Mecas was arrested successful the decease of his babe daughter.

Mecas, present 34, has pleaded not blameworthy to manslaughter successful the 2016 decease of his 11-week-old daughter, Haelin Taylor.

The interrogation video shows Mecas was wearing a garment saying "We emotion you, Daddy," connected Jan. 23, 2023 — the seventh day of his daughter's death, and the time helium was arrested.

Virden RCMP antecedently said they got a study connected Jan. 4, 2016, of an babe successful aesculapian distress astatine a home in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, astir 40 kilometres westbound of Brandon, Man. The babe was taken to infirmary successful captious information but died from her injuries connected Jan. 23, 2016.

Police deemed her decease a homicide.

Mecas wasn't charged until January 2023. He was allegedly heard astatine a enactment successful 2021 confessing to hurting the baby, according to witnesses who testified astatine his proceedings connected Wednesday.

Just implicit 4 hours of footage from his 2023 RCMP interrogation at the Virden RCMP detachment was played Thursday at the Court of King's Bench successful Brandon, successful which RCMP Const. Shaylyn Brazier asked Mecas to explicate what happened to the baby.

Mecas said helium was uncomfortable speaking and that helium wanted a lawyer.

During the interrogation, Brazier told Mecas she knew helium cared astir Haelin, but said she understood having a caller babe tin beryllium stressful.

"I cognize that you were struggling and you could not get her to halt crying, and you conscionable mislaid your temper that divided 2nd and thing happened," she said successful the video. "I cognize ever since it's burdened you."

She implored Mecas to archer the truth, saying his household needed to cognize what happened to Haelin.

'You can't get escaped of this'

Brazier aboriginal showed Mecas a video signaling of his partner, Kara Taylor — Haelin's mother— saying helium had confessed to hurting their daughter.

In response, Mecas told Brazier, "This is each caller to me."

RCMP Sgt. Mike Pleskacz joined the interrogation, saying a report indicated Haelin had injuries caused by being shaken.

Pleskacz said Mecas was accused of her decease due to the fact that he'd been unsocial with her erstwhile she went into aesculapian duress, and pressed him to instrumentality responsibility.

"You're going to spot it hap — you know, each clip you adjacent your eyes, each clip you get retired of bed, each clip you aftermath up successful the morning. You can't get escaped of this," Pleskacz said. "You can't instrumentality backmost what happened, arsenic overmuch arsenic you privation to."

As Pleskacz spoke during the interrogation, Mecas sat softly successful the country with his caput down.

"You're conscionable trying to pin it connected me," Mecas told Pleskacz.

The tribunal besides saw abstracted RCMP video from 2018, erstwhile Mecas was questioned by RCMP Sgt. Devin Scramstad, who asked Mecas to supply a voluntary connection astir Haelin's death.

Scramstad asked Mecas however the babe got the injuries erstwhile Mecas was the lone different idiosyncratic successful the location astatine the time, and told Mecas helium believed helium was responsible.

"She's injured successful a mode that would travel crossed arsenic frustration," Scramstad told Mecas. "I don't judge you did it due to the fact that you're a atrocious person. I judge you did it arsenic a genitor who couldn't instrumentality it."

Mecas denied those accusations, saying helium didn't cognize what happened, and ended the interview.

Mecas's judge-only proceedings began connected Wednesday. It resumes connected Tuesday.