A Quebec woman facing criminal charges in connection with the abduction of a newborn baby will undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine whether she’s fit to stand trial, Â鶹´«Ã½ has learned.
Valerie Poulin-Collins, 21, has been charged with kidnapping a person under 14, and kidnapping and confinement of a person under 16 after a newborn girl was taken from a Trois-Rivieres hospital on Monday, police said. She will undergo a five-day psychiatric evaluation before an official court hearing is held next Thursday to determine if and when she will stand trial, Â鶹´«Ã½ has learned.
Poulin-Collins appeared tired and pale in court on Thursday, as she was deemed unfit to be formally arraigned in court. Her official first appearance in court is slated for June 5.
Poulin-Collins was arrested on Monday, but had been in hospital due to health concerns, a spokesperson for the Crown prosecutor said. She stayed in the Ville-Marie hospital where the incident occurred until Wednesday evening. She was then released and taken into police custody.
The charges stem from the disappearance of a day-old baby girl from the hospital in Trois-Rivieres on Monday. Police had distributed a security footage image of a woman dressed in nurse’s, leading police to Poulin-Collins three hours later, after she was identified by former neighbours on social media.
The baby, named Victoria Boisclair, is now back with her parents.
The McMahon-Boisclair family was on hand Thursday to see Poulin-Collins in court.
Poulin-Collins will be detained in hospital until her formal hearing. She has also been ordered to stay away from Victoria and the McMahon-Boisclair family.
If Poulin-Collins is convicted, she could face between five years and life in prison, police said.
With files from CTV Montreal
