EDMONTON - A murder trial is scheduled to begin Monday for a 33-year-old woman accused of killing her two young sons in the town of Millet two years ago.
Allyson Louise McConnell was charged with two counts of second-degree murder after her sons, 10-month old Jayden and two-year-old Connor, were found dead inside the family home on Feb. 1, 2010.
McConnell was found fit to stand trial later that year, after she underwent a psychiatric assessment at Alberta Hospital. A preliminary hearing took place in April 2011.
Originally from Australia, McConnell moved permanently to Canada after meeting Alberta resident Curtis McConnell while in the country on a work visa.
The couple had separated, and were in the midst of what some friends have described as a “difficult” divorce when the little boys died. Curtis McConnell had been living with his parents at the time.
The trial is set to begin at Court of Queen’s Bench in Wetaskiwin on Monday, and is slated to last for two weeks.
Prosecutor Gordon Hatch said the Crown will likely call 10 or 11 witnesses.
Allyson McConnell is currently in custody at the Alberta Hospital. She has never applied for bail.
Millet is located about 50 kilometres south of Edmonton.
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