Court sees interrogation videos of police pressing father to confess in infant's death

A Brandon court saw hours of video Thursday showing a police interrogation on the day Keifer Mecas was arrested in the death of his infant daughter.

Mecas, now 34, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in the 2016 death of his 11-week-old daughter, Haelin Taylor.

The interrogation video shows Mecas was wearing a shirt saying "We love you, Daddy," on Jan. 23, 2023 — the seventh anniversary of his daughter's death, and the day he was arrested.

Virden RCMP previously said they got a report on Jan. 4, 2016, of an infant in medical distress at a home in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, about 40 kilometres west of Brandon, Man. The baby was taken to hospital in critical condition but died from her injuries on Jan. 23, 2016.

Police deemed her death a homicide.

Mecas wasn't charged until January 2023. He was allegedly heard at a party in 2021 confessing to hurting the baby, according to witnesses who testified at his trial on Wednesday.

Just over four hours of footage from his 2023 RCMP interrogation at the Virden RCMP detachment was played Thursday at the Court of King's Bench in Brandon, in which RCMP Const. Shaylyn Brazier asked Mecas to explain what happened to the baby.

Mecas said he was uncomfortable speaking and that he wanted a lawyer.

During the interrogation, Brazier told Mecas she knew he cared about Haelin, but said she understood having a new baby can be stressful.

"I know that you were struggling and you could not get her to stop crying, and you just lost your temper that split second and something happened," she said in the video. "I know ever since it's burdened you."

She implored Mecas to tell the truth, saying his family needed to know what happened to Haelin.

'You can't get rid of this'

Brazier later showed Mecas a video recording of his partner, Kara Taylor — Haelin's mother— saying he had confessed to hurting their daughter.

In response, Mecas told Brazier, "This is all new to me."

RCMP Sgt. Mike Pleskacz joined the interrogation, saying a report indicated Haelin had injuries caused by being shaken.

Pleskacz said Mecas was accused of her death because he'd been alone with her when she went into medical duress, and pressed him to take responsibility.

"You're going to see it happen — you know, every time you close your eyes, every time you get out of bed, every time you wake up in the morning. You can't get rid of this," Pleskacz said. "You can't take back what happened, as much as you want to."

As Pleskacz spoke during the interrogation, Mecas sat quietly in the corner with his head down.

"You're just trying to pin it on me," Mecas told Pleskacz.

The court also saw separate RCMP video from 2018, when Mecas was questioned by RCMP Sgt. Devin Scramstad, who asked Mecas to provide a voluntary statement about Haelin's death.

Scramstad asked Mecas how the baby got the injuries when Mecas was the only other person in the home at the time, and told Mecas he believed he was responsible.

"She's injured in a way that would come across as frustration," Scramstad told Mecas. "I don't believe you did it because you're a bad person. I believe you did it as a parent who couldn't take it."

Mecas denied those accusations, saying he didn't know what happened, and ended the interview.

Mecas's judge-only trial began on Wednesday. It resumes on Tuesday.