After more than a year, a trial date is to be set for Lisa Batstone, the South Surrey woman charged with killing her eight-year-old daughter in December of 2014.
She will appear at B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on April 28 at 2 p.m. to start the trial process and set dates.
The move to trial was approved Friday during a brief video appearance at Surrey Provincial Court.
Batstone sat unemotionally as her lawyer, Craig Sicotte, requested the case move to Supreme Court for trial after consultation with Crown counsel, her only audible comment being a loud “thank you” when her appearance ended.
Sicotte waived the right to a preliminary hearing and requested the trial be heard by judge alone, rather than a jury. Batstone has consented to remain in custody until then, he told the court.
Batstone was arrested Dec. 10, 2014 and charged with second-degree murder following the discovery of the body of her daughter Teagan, a Grade 3 student at Rosemary Heights Elementary, in the back of a car in cul-de-sac just south of Crescent Road.
The mother was found fit to stand trial in January of last year.
Sicotte told Peace Arch News a preliminary hearing is not necessary since the basic facts have been established. He noted the case has been delayed while he awaits full disclosure of documentation.
“The Crown still doesn’t have (all documents) from the police,” he added. “It’s unbelievable, a year later, but that’s where we’re at.”