Toronto man pleads guilty to 2nd-degree murder in death of girl poisoned by cereal

A Toronto man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of a three-year-old girl who police say was poisoned.

Francis Ngugi, 47, made the plea in a Ontario Superior Court of Justice courtroom in Toronto on Tuesday. 

The girl, Bernice Nantanda Wamala, died on March 7, 2021, after eating breakfast cereal at home. The cereal had been poisoned.

Police alleged that a man obtained a “controlled substance” from his work, and that substance was placed into children’s breakfast cereal.

During a sleepover, two children in the home ate the cereal, and subsequently required hospitalization.

One of the children died in hospital, while the other child recovered after a long hospital stay, police said. 

The police and the Ontario Coroner’s Office began an investigation and an autopsy identified the controlled substance.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 2.