The man charged in the bizarre kidnapping and subsequent safe return of three-year-old Kienan Hebert of Sparwood, B.C. will be back in court in Alberta on Dec. 6.
Randall Peter Hopley was to stand trial on a dozen charges in Alberta this month in connection with breaking into a cabin in the southwest corner of the province last year and possession of stolen goods.
But the 46-year-old Sparwood man is currently in custody in a Kamloops jail awaiting his next court appearance in British Columbia on Nov. 9 related to the abduction of the Sparwood tot.
Mr. Hopley is to undergo a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation to determine if he is mentally fit to stand trial or whether he could be considered criminally responsible.
Earlier this month, Kienan was snatched from his bedroom in the middle of the night. Mr. Hopley was quickly named as the only suspect in the case. Four days after the toddler was kidnapped, he reappeared in his home. Kienan was unharmed during his disappearance, according to police and the lad's parents, Paul and Tammy Hebert. An intense seven-day manhunt ended on Sept. 13 with Mr. Hopley's capture near a vacant bible camp in Alberta, just east of the B.C. boundary.
Mr. Hopley is charged with kidnapping, abduction and break and enter in the case.
Court officials in Alberta said Tuesday that Mr. Hopley is now slated to appear in a Pincher Creek court on Dec. 6 at 10 a.m. to select a new date for a preliminary inquiry.
"We now know Mr. Hopley is in B.C. assessment until November," said Alberta Justice spokesman David Dear. "Until the results of that assessment are known, fixing a date for the preliminary inquiry would be academic."