CANADA • Marissa WHALEN, 2 / Accused: Roseanne Whalen (mother), Rainbow Hill and Amanda Dipota ~ Fort Erie ON

Accused in toddler death appears in court
November 16, 2011

The woman accused of second-degree murder in the death of a Fort Erie toddler appeared briefly in video court in St. Catharines Wednesday.

A lawyer representing Rainbow Hill, 28, requested she return to court in person on Friday. The court was told an additional charge may be laid against Hill at that time.

Hill, of Fort Erie, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of two-year-old Marissa Whalen. She's currently being held at the Vanier Centre for Women in Milton.

Hill's sister Amanda Dipota, 30, of Niagara Falls, also appeared in court by video from the jail Wednesday. Dipota was charged with accessory after the fact to murder and indignity to human remains. She'll appear again by video in St. Catharines on Nov. 25 to set a date in Superior Court.

Marissa Whalen had been missing since July but police said they were notified of her disappearance in October. The body of a child found by police on Six Nations land near Brantford on Oct. 16 is believed to be that of the toddler. Tests are still being done to confirm the identity.

The toddler's mother, Roseann Whalen, 23, of Fort Erie was also charged in the case with criminal negligence causing death, accessory after the fact to murder, and indignity to human remains.

Whalen is scheduled to appear in court in Fort Erie on Dec. 6.

http://www.thoroldedition.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3371806

Child’s body not yet identified

January 6th, 2012

Almost three months after being delivered
to the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto, the tiny body discovered
in a wooded area near Brantford remains without a name.

Marissa Whalen

While Niagara police believe the body to be that of missing Fort Erie toddler
Marissa Whalen, detectives cannot conclusively identify the remains
pending forensic confirmation from the Toronto lab.
"We are still waiting on DNA confirmation from CFS," Det. Sgt. Danny Savoie, of the
Niagara Regional Police major crime unit, said Friday.
Ontario's Centre of Forensic Sciences is one of the most extensive forensic
science facilities in North America. It conducts scientific
investigations in cases involving injury or death in unusual
circumstances as well as crimes against persons or property.
The NRP launched an investigation Oct. 8 after two-year-old Marissa was
reported missing. Investigators quickly determined, however, the child
had been missing from her Fort Erie home since July.
Police said at that time they were confident the toddler had met with foul play.
Two women, including Marissa's mother Roseanne Whalen, were charged in connection with missing child.
Two days later, the remains of a child were discovered in the Six Nations community of Ohsweken, near Brantford.
Roseanne Whalen, 23, appeared briefly in a St. Catharines court Friday via a
video link from the prison she's called home since her arrest Oct. 14.
The Fort Erie woman is charged with second-degree murder, criminal
negligence causing death and accessory after the fact to murder.
She is scheduled to appear in court in Fort Erie Jan. 17 to set a date for her trial.

Meanwhile, Amanda Dipota, 30, is set to appear in court in St. Catharines Jan. 13.
The Niagara Falls resident is charged with accessory after the fact to murder and indignity to human remains.
Dipota's sister Rainbow Hill, 28, will appear in St. Catharines court on Jan.
25. The Fort Erie woman is also charged with second-degree murder.
The case sparked an outpouring of grief across Niagara, with more than 150
people attending a vigil in memory of Marissa on Oct. 17 in Fort Erie.
http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3427939