The mother and grandmother of a seven-year-old girl from Granby say their hearts are broken and the system failed her after she was found bound and beaten and later died.
The family’s identity cannot be revealed because of a court-ordered publication ban due to ongoing court proceedings.
The girl’s mother said she was at the hospital, held her daughter's hand and spoke to her before she died.
The girl loved her dolls and loved to sing, she said.
“We warned everyone we could, but no one listened,” said the mother.
The child lived with her father and her stepmother, who have now both been charged with forcible confinement. The stepmother has also been charged with aggravated assault.
The Crown isn't ruling out murder charges.
“We are now evaluating all the evidence we received from the Surete du Quebec and also the evidence we will receive,” said Jean-Pascal Boucher, spokesperson for the Crown prosecutor.
The girl had a sad and short life. Her birth mother had a lot of problems and lost custody – but she alleges her daughter's life with her father and stepmother was violent.
In a court case last year, the father worried he would “blow up” because he and his second wife couldn't care for the little girl. Her mother says her daughter would scream, defecate on the floor, and had suicidal thoughts.
“They wouldn't let her have contact with anyone from my family that she knew since birth. They even tried to prevent me from seeing her. I think it's normal that she rebelled,” the mother said.
Even the man’s mother, who cared for the girl the first four years of her life, said their pleas for help were ignored.
“We fight, we fight, we fight,” she said. “We do so many hours. We go to Human Rights Commission. We go to child protection. We tried everything we could. They did nothing for us.”
