CTV News has confirmed that Michelle Rice, a 31-year-old mother charged in connection to the death of her 11-day-old daughter back in March, will appear in court next week. Meanwhile, her father reacted to the charges in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Rice was arrested Thursday, May 11 following an investigation into the death of her 11-day-old daughter back in March.

Officers were called to the home in the area of 72 Street and 83 Avenue Wednesday, March 29, over reports a baby wasn’t breathing, police arrived when paramedics were taking the infant to hospital. She was pronounced dead a short time later.

The Medical Examiner later found the child died from a lethal dose of methamphetamine.

As a result, Rice has been charged with second-degree murder in her daughter’s death.

Rice’s father, Terence, spoke to The Canadian Press from Lethbridge, Alta. He said the allegation against his daughter isn’t true.

“I just want to say that I know my daughter is a good person and I don’t believe that what she is accused of is true,” he said.

“The fact that she is being charged with murder is beyond me, because I know that she really loves her children. I can’t imagine how this would come about. It is horrible.”

Police said Thursday that the child could have taken in the methamphetamine either orally or anally, and there was too much of the drug in her system to have come from breastmilk.

“It’s crazy, our standards here: no drugs, no alcohol, no partying,” Josh Gork said. “So I mean, it’s shocking if that’s what it was.”

Gork is Rice’s landlord; the mother lived in the basement suite of his home. He told CTV News he was the one who let in emergency responders into the building in March.

“I was the only one upstairs and they knocked on my door first, the police, ambulance, so on and so forth,” Gork said. “I had to let them in and I didn’t know, and I had to watch them bring the poor little thing out.”

As the investigation continued, Gork said police were back at the house a few times, and he spoke to them on a few occasions.

“They came in with a search warrant, and checked the house so I let them in then, she hasn’t been here a whole lot since,” Gork said.

The landlord said Rice hadn’t spent much time at the home since her baby’s death, he said she also has a 2-year-old son, who he believed was living with his biological father.

The father of the accused told The Canadian Press his daughter last visited him over Christmas, and said “I thought she was healthy and happy” and he and his wife wanted to gain custody of her son.

Rice remains in custody; she’s scheduled to appear in court Monday, May 15, for a bail hearing.

With files from The Canadian Press