St. Thomas police say they suspect foul play in the
disappearance of missing infant Abbygail Dice and
yesterday named her mother a suspect.
The development comes more than five weeks after
the month-old baby's mother, Sara Whittington, was
found alone and disoriented inside her locked
Confederation Drive apartment on Sept. 20.
Abbygail was nowhere to be found.
"(Whittington) is now a suspect and she is the
only suspect," Const. Anders Nielsen said yesterday.
The change in Whittington's status from "person
of interest" to "suspect" follows an interview with
police for several hours Friday at London police
headquarters with her lawyer, Bill Glover, present.
"We are extremely disappointed that, in the face
of Sara's co-operation, the police have upgraded
without notice to Sara, her status in this
investigation," Glover said in a statement.
"Sara has consistently told the police that she
does not know what happened to Abby or what her
involvement might be.
"To the extent allowed by Sara's medical and
emotional state, she has always co-operated with the
police, she has spoken extensively to the media, she
has walked with the community and at her own expense
she has hired us as investigators to assist and
co-operate with the police in the search for
Abbygail."
Nielsen said there aren't any restrictions on
Whittington's travels.
"We don't have the authority to enforce anything
like that," Nielsen said. "She's free to go wherever
she wants."
Police are again asking the public for help to
determine Whittington's whereabouts between 6 p.m.
and 9 p.m. on Sept. 18.
"What really seems to be a concern (to
investigators) is those three hours and her
movements," Nielsen said. "We want to know what
(Whittington) was doing during that time."
The last time mother and daughter were seen
together was about 2:30 p.m. Sept. 18.
Nielsen said police have accounted for the hours
up to 6 p.m.
On Oct. 4, police released video of Whittington
shopping in a St. Thomas drugstore at 9 p.m. on
Sept. 18. The baby was not with Whittington in the
store.
Sources say Whittington purchased Tylenol, Nyquil
and another medication.
Meanwhile, Abbygail's father, Chris Meadows, who
police say is neither a person of interest nor a
suspect, met the media for the first time yesterday
at an impromptu news conference.
Nielsen said Meadows has been interviewed several
times by investigators and "he's been 100- per-cent
cleared."
Meadows kept out of the public eye, did not help
with searches and declined comment to the media at
the request of investigators, Nielsen said.
Whittington was interviewed for 7 1/2 hours
Friday at London police headquarters, said Nielsen,
because the city force has "more investigative
resources" without being specific.
For instance, the St. Thomas force doesn't have a
polygraph machine.
No one would confirm whether Whittington was
tested on Friday.
Glover has said the mother was suffering from
ketoacidosis, a complication related to diabetes
that may have affected her memory.
After she was found in her apartment, Whittington
spent five days in intensive care in hospital, then
moved into her parents' southwest London home.
In an Oct. 12 interview, Whittington said she has
no memory of Tuesday, Sept. 18 through Thursday,
Sept. 20 when she was found.
Glover has suggested someone else could have
entered the apartment while Whittington was in
medical distress.
Glover said there were three keys to the
apartment held by Whittington, Abbygail's father and
the superintendent of the three-storey walk-up
apartment building. As well, the balcony door was
open.
Searches immediately after Whittington was found
and the weeks that followed have failed to turn up
any trace of the infant.