Montreal mother who allegedly abandoned 3-year-old daughter to appear in court after

The Montreal mother accused of abandoning her daughter, who was found alive on June 18 along a highway in Ontario, will appear in court Friday after having completed a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation at the Philippe-Pinel Psychiatric Institute.

The 34-year-old woman, who cannot be identified due to a publication ban that protects the identity of herself and her daughter, had testified on July 4 during her two-day bail hearing. The publication ban also prevents media from publishing or sharing details from the bail hearing in order to guarantee the accused a fair trial.

On July 11, Quebec Court Judge Bertrand St-Arnaud denied her bail and ordered her to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Friday’s court appearance is expected to determine the next steps in the mother’s legal proceedings.

Defence lawyer Olivier Beliveau is representing the accused while prosecutor Lili Prévost-Gravel represents the Crown.

Sûreté du Québec officers were tasked with searching for the three-year-old girl on June 15, sparking a massive police operation that lasted over 72 hours after the accused walked into a business on in Coteau-du-Lac, Montérégie, saying that she had lost her daughter.

The young girl was found three days later on the side of Highway 417 in Ontario near the exit to the town of St. Albert by an Ontario Provincial Police drone.

The mother had been charged on July 3 with criminal negligence causing bodily harm, in addition to the charge of unlawful abandonment of a child that was assigned to her June 16.

The maximum sentence for criminal negligence causing bodily harm is 10 years, while the full penalty for the unlawful abandonment of a child is five years if convicted.