Calgary parents plead guilty to manslaughter in 18-month-old child's death
CBC
Warning: this story contains distressing details.
Sonya Pasqua, 34, and Michael Sinclair, 32, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of their son in Calgary's Court of King's Bench Monday afternoon.
Court documents show that about six weeks after Gabriel was returned to his parents, he suffered a major burn to 33 per cent of his body, including third-degree burns.
Instead of taking Gabriel to the hospital, the parents attempted at home remedies like rubbing honey on the wounds, according to an agreed statement of facts.
The agreed statement referenced a text message exchange between the two parents discussing keeping "him separate from here on now we need him to heal and then we can send him off to a facility cause we still need him as a paycheck."
While it does not specify who they are referring to, another text refers to Gabriel "healing on the couch."
Child and Family Services workers attempted to arrange a visit but were told not to come because Gabriel was ill.
When the parents finally called 911 on Oct. 5, paramedics said the child was already dead on arrival and that Gabriel's skin was an ashen grey colour.
His death was attributed to widespread bacterial infection triggered by the untreated burn and blunt force head trauma with a resulting brain injury, according to the agreed statement of facts.
An autopsy also found he was dehydrated and extremely underweight for his age, despite having appropriate weight gain at a doctor's visit about six months prior.
The two parents told conflicting stories about how Gabriel was injured.
During an interview with police on the day Pasqua was arrested, she said Sinclair had "abused him too" and detailed Sinclair kicking Gabriel a few times.
It's unclear from the agreed statement how Gabriel was burned. In interviews with police, Pasqua explained that boiling water from the stove had fallen on Gabriel, though there were conflicting stories on who apparently spilled the water.
Gabriel was born in March 2020. A day after his birth, he was placed into the care of his great aunt, Alice Finley, and her husband, Gerry Bakoway.
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