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Father of baby girl charged with murder

The father of a four-month-old girl who died after being taken to hospital with head injuries has been charged with second-degree murder.

The father of a four-month-old girl who died after being taken to hospital with head injuries has been charged with second-degree murder.

RCMP announced on Friday morning that Julian Thomson, 21, had been arrested and charged. He appeared by closed-circuit TV from the Red Deer Remand Centre in Red Deer provincial court later in the morning. Thomson, who was represented by duty counsel, is due back in court on Wednesday.

The accused made no comment other than to say, “Yes, I understand,” when asked if he understood the charge read out to him in court.

Police said the accused was in a common-law relationship with the child’s mother and it is believed they lived together.

Zaria McCall was brought by a parent to Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre with life-threatening head injuries about 6:30 p.m. last Friday.

The child was transferred by STARS air ambulance to Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital. She died about 1:15 a.m. the next morning.

An autopsy concluded the death was a homicide.

Police allege that the injuries occurred when the baby was in the family’s Red Deer home.

Which parent brought the child in and further information on the nature of the injuries are not being released because they are part of the investigation, said police.

Twenty-six RCMP officers spent almost 450 hours investigating the incident.

A Facebook page has already been set up in memory of the baby girl.

The page reads: “It is with a heavy heart that we dedicate this page to a little girl who meant a lot to many people and who will be greatly missed. We all love you Zaria may you be in a better place.”