By Brett Clarkson and Dan Dakin Niagara Falls Review Updated 10 hours ago
The third woman charged in connection with the disappearance of Fort Erie toddler Marissa Whalen (main photo) appeared briefly in court Monday morning.
Amanda Dipota, 30, of Niagara Falls, was charged Sunday with accessory after the fact to murder and indignity to human remains.
Dipota is the older sister of Rainbow Hill, 28, who was charged with second-degree murder in Marissa's death.
Although remains of a child were found Sunday on Six Nations land near Ohsweken by police investigating Marissa's disappearance, police have not yet confirmed the identity of those remains.
Roseanne Whalen, the baby's 23-year-old mother, is also charged with criminal negligence causing death, accessory after the fact to murder and indignity to human remains. Whalen is set to appear in court Tuesday.
Dipota, in handcuffs and wearing a dark blue hoodie, made eye contact with a group of family members who were sitting in the court for her bail hearing Monday. At one point, she appeared to mouth the words "I love you" to them.
During the court appearance, a woman in the group of family members gestured angrily at a reporter and said "don't do that!" while the reporter was taking notes.
That woman was identified later as the mother of Hill and Dipota by a group of women outside the court who had gathered to remember Marissa. The women said they were former friends of Hill and Whalen.
Dipota was ordered to be held in custody until her next court date, a video appearance on Oct. 24 at 10:45 a.m.
The family refused to comment after the court appearance.
Meanwhile, a relative of Whalen, who did not want to be identified, said Monday the Whalen family desperately tried to find Roseanne Whalen and Marissa over the summer.
"Everyone is saying the family did nothing, but they don't know what we tried to do," said the person, who would only identify herself as Roseanne Whalen's cousin. "They kept moving. When we found them, the next day they would be gone out of the house. They moved three times in three months.
"They don't know how hard we tried to find that baby," the cousin said.
The cousin also said Roseanne's mother is devastated by the loss. "It's hitting her hard. (Marissa) was her pride and she helped raise her until the last couple of months," she said.
Outside the St. Catharines court building on Monday, about 20 people gathered to remember Marissa, with some going inside to watch Dipota's hearing.
"We are here for the voice of Marissa," said organizer Carolyn Day of Niagara Falls, adding that she dated Hill and was friends with Whalen until Whalen began seeing Hill.
Some of the protestors outside the court on Monday wanted to draw attention to Family and Children's Services and what they claimed was a failure to protect Marissa from harm, Day said. "They did not do their job, in my opinion, to protect her," she said.
Ann Godfrey, the director of public relations for FACS Niagara, said the organization couldn't comment on what contact it had with Whalen or Hill.
"I can't say anything about specific cases, but we do get calls from the community about families from time to time and our involvement can take many forms. When we receive calls about families, we look into them and we take action if it's needed," she said. "Certainly if we receive calls, we respond to them in a timely fashion."
Amanda Mitchell, 25, of Niagara Falls, is a former friend of Whalen's who made the trip to the St. Catharines courthouse Monday.
Mitchell said she first saw Marissa on the second day after she was brought home from the hospital after her birth.
"She was just bubbly, she was a very smiley kid," Mitchell said. "She was an easygoing baby."
Mitchell called Marissa's presumed death "brutal" and unnecessary."
Day also organized a candlelight vigil that was to take place Monday night at the Leisureplex in Fort Erie.
Since Thursday, Niagara Regional Police have charged three people in connection with the death of two-year-old Marissa Whalen. Police began investigating her disappearance Oct. 8.
On Sunday, police on the Six Nations reserve discovered what they believe to be the remains of the little girl. Suspects in the case have made first court appearances.
The accused are:
— Friend/girlfriend of Roseanne Whalen, who is the mother of Marissa Whalen. sister of Amanda Dipota, who is also charged.
— Sister of Rainbow E. Hill, who is accused of second-degree murder in the case
— Charged with accessory after the fact to murder, indignity to human remains
— Mother of Marissa Whalen, friend/girlfriend to Rainbow E. Hill
— Charged with criminal negligence causing death, accessory after the fact to murder, indignity to human remains
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