Man Allegedly Kills Toddler By Stuffing Ping-Pong Ball In His Mouth; Undergoes Psych Assessment

A Canadian man who was accused of causing the death of a 2-year-old toddler by putting a ping-pong ball in the child's mouth has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment.

Madison Bennett, also known as Karrson Bennett, was remanded to a psychiatric hospital for a 30-day assessment after appearing in provincial court Monday via a video link from jail, Canadian broadcaster CBC reported.

Bennet was arrested on Sept. 28 and charged with criminal negligence causing death and breach of probation in connection to the death of an unnamed 2-year-old in Saint John earlier that month.

Police were responding to a report of an unconscious child at a Saint John residence on Sept 18 when they encountered the victim who was not breathing, a report by Canadian radio station Country 94 said. The toddler was airlifted to a children's hospital in Halifax, but the child died the next day.

Bennett allegedly put a ping-pong ball in the victim's mouth, which caused its death. His relationship with the victim was unclear.

David Lutz, Bennett’s lawyer, requested for a fitness hearing aside from the month-long psychiatric assessment during Monday's court appearance.

Judge Andrew LeMesurier, upon hearing Lutz's requests, noted that the usual practice was to have a five-day jail assessment of fitness before moving on to the 30-day assessment at the Restigouche Hospital Centre in Campbellton. The magistrate, however, claimed the latter was in order given the seriousness of the charges against Bennett.

Bennett is scheduled to appear before court again on Oct. 28.

Bennett has been previously charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault of another toddler in 2017.

He admitted to physically assaulting the young female victim in that case on at least five separate occasions, which included him suffocating the girl with water, hitting her and holding his hand over her face until she turned purple and had to be revived.

In another instance, Bennett reportedly stuffed the victim into a small duffel bag, zipped it up to her neck and threw her in a closet before going out for a cigarette.

Bennett pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced in January 2019 to three years in prison, to be followed by 36 months of supervised probation.