Stepmother found guilty of second-degree murder in death of Granby girl
WARNING: This story contains details some may find distressing
A 38-year-old woman charged with second-degree murder in the death of her seven-year-old stepdaughter in Granby has been found guilty.
On Wednesday afternoon, a jury in Trois-Rivières found the woman guilty of second-degree murder and forcible confinement, opting against a conviction for a lesser charge of manslaughter, an option Judge Louis Dionne had given to it.
The decision came extremely quickly for a murder case; the jury took only five hours to reach a unanimous verdict.
The girl died in April 2019 after her stepmother wrapped her in layers of adhesive tape to tie her down overnight, the court heard during the trial. The stepmother testified that she was trying to prevent the girl from escaping, also admitting that she tied her up from head to toe.
The child was found unresponsive in the morning and was pronounced dead the following day in the hospital.
The woman faces an automatic life sentence, though a later sentencing hearing will determine when she will be eligible for parole, which could be anywhere from 10 to 25 years, said Crown prosecutor Claude Robitaille.
The case rocked the province of Quebec before the details became public knowledge. It was in the wake of this tragedy that the Legault government set up the Laurent Commission to review the entire youth protection system in Quebec.
The trial was transferred to the Trois-Rivières courthouse in order to select a jury further away from where the crime took place.
Many elements of this trial, including the woman and the girl's identities, could not be disclosed to the general public because of a publication ban issued by the court. It will remain in effect until at least January 2022.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
DEVELOPING Alberta's request for federal assistance approved after fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
BREAKING Loblaw, George Weston to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500-million to settle a class-action lawsuit regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'
U.K. police officer suspended after video appears to show a man being kicked in head
A British police officer was suspended from all duties Thursday after a video was posted on social media that appeared to show an officer kicking and stamping on the head of a man lying on the floor of a terminal at Manchester Airport.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Norad intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers operating together near Alaska in apparent first
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what appears to be the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
Biden explains why he ended re-election bid in Oval Office address
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country's democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Jasper mayor says alert system to be reviewed after message 'glitch'
More than 25,000 people have been displaced from Jasper National Park since wildfires started to threaten the picturesque corner of Alberta Rockies on Monday, but the mayor of its namesake municipality says not everyone received an evacuation alert when it was sent out.
Unclaimed bodies are piling up in Newfoundland. A funeral director blames the government
A funeral director in St. John's says the bodies piling up in freezers at Newfoundland and Labrador's largest hospital likely belong to people whose loved ones couldn't get enough government help to pay for a funeral.