Death of 2-month-old girl on Sioux Valley Dakota Nation a homicide, RCMP say

The chief of the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation says he's shocked to learn the death of HaelinTaylor,a two-month-old girl in the community, is being investigated as a homicide.

RCMPsay Taylor was taken to hospital after police received a report about a seriously injured child near the First Nation, located in southwestern Manitoba,on Jan. 4.

• 'Seriously injured' baby girl in critical condition in Winnipeg

She was listed in critical condition.Police began an investigation and a home on the First Nation was part of that.

Then on Saturday, Taylor died, according to police.

"We're very protective of our young people, and we believe that all children should be enjoying their life here in the community," Sioux Valley Chief Vincent Tacan said Tuesday.

"So to learn about some of the few details about this, we were a little bit disappointed and we're shocked like everyone else would be."

Tacan said he first learned about the case when RCMP investigators asked to use one of the First Nation's offices.

"All I know now, I was advised that the infant passed away," he said.

"There's a little bit of sadness, thinking about what we could have done what kind of help is available for young parents, that sort of thing. So as more information comes out, we'll be better informed about what we need to do as a community to prevent this sort of thing from happening again."

In a news release,RCMPSgt. BertPaquet called the child's death "the saddest of tragedies for the community and allManitobans."

"Based on our investigation to date, we can say that other children are not at risk," he said. "While we understand that a lot of questions are being asked about this case, our focus remains on the investigation in order to bring answers to the community."

Police did not release any further details about the case.

'This ought not to have happened'

Tacan said he doesn't know much about the family involved in the investigation.

"A little bit of the chatter on Facebook everybody is speculating, of course. The feeling is this ought not to have happened. Some folks were upset," he said.

"Most members of the community are like myself; I don't have all the information. So as more information comes out, we'll be in more of a position to make more comments."

Tacan said officers have told him they're not going to rush the investigation, and they're continuing to conduct interviews with people.

He added that the First Nation has offered the family assistance for Taylor's funeral, which is scheduled for Thursday.

"This is something that's new in the community. We've never experienced this before. We don't know how to handle this at this point," he said.

"I think we'll be talking to some of our health-care professionals here in the community and see what we can do and discuss what steps we need to take following the investigation."