By Bre McAdam

UPDATE: Woman gets four-year sentence for stabbing baby

Sep 25, 2014 | 2:43 PM

Through a video played in court, an Alberta woman sobbed as she watched her three-year-old son loll around on the floor of a playroom. It was the first time she had seen the child since stabbing him in the head during a custody dispute in Warman when he was five months old.

The woman, whose name is banned from publication in order to protect the identity of her son, received a four-year sentence Thursday at Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench. The 25 year old pleaded guilty to attempted murder on June 23.

Facts of the Case

Crown prosecutor Sheryl Fillo detailed how the woman, originally from Edmonton, moved into her boyfriend’s home in Warman in 2009. When they broke up, she continued living in the home, started dating their roommate and became pregnant in May 2010.

The woman, who was 21 years old at the time, “reacted negatively” to the pregnancy and was upset that she was gaining weight, Fillo said. Shortly after giving birth, she told her fiancé that she “hated her life” and wanted to die. She also expressed a desire to bring the child back to Edmonton with her so she could resume her job as a pole dancer, suggesting the child could sleep in the back room of the bar.

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On May 1, 2011, the child’s father took the five-month-old baby to his parent’s house and told the woman that she needed to get help for depression. She later called him from the police station, where she had allegedly accused his parents of kidnapping their son.

The couple decided to separate; the child’s father said the woman was only allowed to visit her son when his parents were around. She asked to get back together, but he refused unless she got help for her mental health issues.

Court heard RCMP gave the child back to the woman since there was no custody order preventing her from having him. The next day, May 11, 2011, the child’s father asked RCMP to serve an interim custody order at their neighbour’s house, where the woman had stayed the night with their son.

During a series of conversations at the door, the woman pulled out a knife and slipped it up her sleeve. RCMP came into the home after the child’s father informed them that she had a knife and was pointing it at the child.

The two officers tried to convince the woman not to hurt her baby. She told them she would never get custody of her child now, walked upstairs and produced a second knife, but told police “they were not for the baby.”

The officers deployed their conducted energy weapons, but Fillo said the woman still managed to cut her throat. Court heard she told the officers that she wanted to die and asked them to kill her.

Meanwhile, an off-duty police officer happened to be walking by and came inside the house. The two attending officers asked him to check on the child. When he did, he saw the baby slumped on the floor with a knife sticking out of his head. The knife slipped out after the officer sat the child up.

Fillo said all three men were “profoundly affected” by what they saw that day and struggled to testify at the preliminary hearing.

“It’s one of the few times in 26 years of prosecuting that I actually saw officers become so emotional that they had to stop during their testimony and pause before they could continue,” she said.

The Aftermath

The child survived, but suffered a severe brain injury.

“What was done can never be undone,” Fillo told the court. She explained how the three year old has the motor skills of an eight month old, cannot walk or stand and has to eat through a feeding tube.

Justice Murray Acton accepted the Crown and defence’s joint-submission of a four-year sentence on top of the brief time the woman spent in remand at the North Battleford Hospital. She was released on bail in July 2011 and was allowed to live with a friend in Edmonton, whom she eventually married.

Fillo said while the woman has moved on with her life, the boy’s father and grandparents have had to make several sacrifices for a child who requires 24-hour care. They did not submit victim impact statements, choosing instead to focus on the boy’s recovery.

“They would have to go and look at the negatives, which are clearly there. But it would be a very emotional experience to do that and have it come out in front of an accused who they feel is not going to really appreciate the pain that they feel,” Fillo said outside the courthouse.

The woman’s lawyer agreed with Fillo that no sentence can return the child to the life he once had. He said although four years is a low sentence, it is still within the range for attempted murder. If the child had died, his mother would have likely been charged with infanticide; if convicted, the charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, he said.

The defence did not outline what, if any, mental health issues his client currently has. Fillo said the woman was suffering from depression but refused to get help, pointing to medical reports that show she knew what she was doing when she stabbed her child.

“I’m sorry that this happened and I’m sorry for the pain I caused,” the woman said, her voice faintly heard in the courtroom.

Upon sentencing, Justice Acton reminded the woman that her actions will be a part of her son’s life forever.

“He and his family have a life sentence due to the injuries that (she) inflicted,” Fillo said. 

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