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CBC INDEPTH: MISSING CHILDREN

Child Murders

CBC News Online, July 23, 2004

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When a child is murdered in Canada, it's usually at the hands of a relative, not a stranger.

Family members were to blame in almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of the 1,990 solved cases of children and youth homicides in Canada between 1974 and 1999, according to Statistics Canada. Twenty-seven per cent of the murders were committed by acquaintances, and only 10 per cent by strangers.

Although men are far more likely than women to kill someone - nine out of 10 people accused of murder are male, according to Correctional Service Canada - when it comes to killing one's children, the number of mothers accused almost equals the number of fathers accused.

Between 1974 and 2000, 460 fathers and stepfathers were accused of killing their kids, compared to 400 mothers and stepmothers, according to Statistics Canada.

The following is not a comprehensive list, but includes some child murders in recent history.

Emmanuel Jacques
Age: 12
Location: Toronto, Ont.
Killed: August 1977. Emmanuel was working as a shoeshine boy on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto. He was lured into an apartment above a body rub parlour, strangled and drowned in the kitchen sink.

Investigation: In 1978, Josef Woods, Saul David Betesh and Robert Wayne Kribs were convicted of second-degree murder. Werner Gruener was acquitted.

Sharin' Morningstar Keenan
Age: 9
Location: Toronto, Ont.
Killed: January 1983. Sharin' was abducted in downtown Toronto and found dead 10 days later.

Investigation: A murder suspect, Dennis Melvyn Howe, is believed to be still at large. He is on the RCMP's Most Wanted List.

Christine Jessop
Age: 9
Location: Queensville, Ont.
Killed: October 1984. Christine was abducted from her home, sexually assaulted and murdered. Three months later her remains were found about 50 kilometres from her home.

Investigation: Her next door neighbour, Guy Paul Morin, was wrongfully convicted of her murder. No new suspect has been named.

Alison Parrott
Age: 11
Location: Toronto, Ont.
Killed: July 1986. Alison was lured to Varsity Stadium by someone posing as a photographer. She was sexually assaulted and murdered. Her body was discarded in a wooded area near the Humber River.

Investigation: In April 1999, Francis Carl Roy was convicted of first-degree murder. Roy was on parole after raping two girls when he lured Alison to the stadium.

Andrea Atkinson
Age: 6
Location: Toronto, Ont.
Killed: October 1990. Andrea was abducted from her building in Toronto, sexually assaulted and murdered. She was later found stuffed in the storage tank on the sixth floor of her building.

Investigation: In February 1993, John Terceira, the janitor of the building, was convicted of first-degree murder.

Kayla Klaudusz
Age: 3
Location: Toronto, Ont.
Killed: July 1991. Kayla was sexually assaulted and murdered. Her body was found floating in Toronto's harbour.

Investigation: In May 1996, David Wayne Snowdon was convicted of first-degree murder. He lived in the same building as Kayla.

Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French
Age: Leslie, 14; Kristen, 15
Location: Niagara Region, Ont.
Killed: 1991. Leslie and Kristen were both abducted, tortured and murdered.

Investigation: In 1993, the court struck a deal with Karla Homolka. She was given a 12-year sentence on two counts of manslaughter in exchange for testimony about her ex-husband, Paul Bernardo. In 1995, Bernardo was convicted of raping and murdering Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French.

April Lambert
Age: 12
Location: Alberta
Killed: April disappeared from the Bushie Reserve in northern Alberta in 1998 and later found dead, her body mutilated.

Investigation: Robert Chris McKenzie was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Sharmini Anandavel
Age: 15
Location: Toronto, Ont.
Killed: June 1999. Sharmini disappeared in June, and was found dead in October of that year.

Investigation: Her killer has never been found.

Farah Khan
Age: 5
Location: Toronto, Ont.
Killed: December 1999. Farah's dismembered body was found in a park in Etobicoke, in Toronto's west end.

Investigation: In January 2000, her father Muhammad Arsal Khan and stepmother Fatima Khan were arrested. In the spring of 2004, Muhammad Khan was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole for at least 25 years. Fatima Khan was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole for at least 15 years.

Dominic Brown

Domenic and Gemini Brown
Ages: Domenic, 15 months; Gemini, 3 months
Location: Calgary, Alta.
Killed: In the summer of 2000, the infants' mother, Rie Fujii, left them alone for 10 days when she visited a boyfriend in Cochrane, Alta. She told the boyfriend that a babysitter was looking after the children. When she returned home, she found the two babies dead. She wrapped the girl's body in a garbage bag and put it in a dumpster and left the boy's body in the apartment before returning to Cochrane. Police later found the boy's body in the abandoned apartment.

Investigation: Rie Fujii, who is from Japan and was living illegally in Canada after her student visa expired, pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in 2002. She was sentenced to eight years in prison, and was denied parole in June 2004.

Heather Thomas
Age: 10
Location: Surrey, B.C.
Killed: Oct. 1, 2000. Heather was sexually assaulted and dumped into Alouette Lake.

Investigation: Shane Ertmoed, 23, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Jessica Koopmans

Jessica Koopmans
Age: 5
Location: Lethbridge, Alta.
Killed: Jessica went missing on her way to a friend's house on May 4, 2001. Her body was later found near a farmer's field outside Fort Macleod.

Investigation: A family friend, 31-year-old Anthony Gallup, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Alexis Currie

Alexis Currie
Age: 2
Location: Toronto, Ont.
Killed: March 9, 2002. Alexis disappeared during a custodial visit with her father. The toddler was stabbed to death. Her body was found near Claremont, a forested area northeast of Toronto.

Investigation: Soon after the disappearance, her father, Peter Currie, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Holly Jones
Age: 10
Location: Toronto, Ont.
Killed: May 12, 2003. Holly was abducted in broad daylight within blocks of her west-end Toronto home. The next day, her remains were found in two locations on the city's waterfront.

Investigation: On June 20, 2003, Toronto police arrested Michael Briere, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder. He pleaded guilty on June 17, 2004.

Cecilia Zhang
Age: 9
Location: Toronto, Ont.
Killed: Cecilia went missing Oct. 20, 2003. She was apparently abducted from her bedroom overnight. Her remains were found in March 2004 in a ravine in Mississauga, Ont.

Investigation: Peel Regional Police arrested Min Chen, 21, a visa student from Shanghai, China, on July 21, 2004. He was charged with first-degree murder in connection to Cecilia's death.

Mainichi Daily News| Woman who cut off her newborn son's genitals handed 5-year prison term

Woman who cut off her newborn son's private parts handed 5-year prison term

Mainichi Daily News, Sakai, Osaka, Japan, November 26, 2006

SAKAI, Osaka -- A woman accused of cutting off her newborn son's private parts in 2004 was ordered Monday to spend five years behind bars.

The Sakai branch of the Osaka District Court convicted Shizue Tamura, 27, a resident of Izumi, Osaka Prefecture, of inflicting bodily injury.

"The way she committed the crime was unprecedented, inhumane and cruel," Presiding Judge Masahiro Hosoi said as he handed down the ruling. Prosecutors had demanded an eight-year prison term.  Read More ..

Toronto Sun logo

Mom's death dance

SHE PARTIED AS DAUGHTER LEFT TO DIE IN HEAT

Toronto Sun
September 29, 2004

SINGLE MOM Clara DaSilva admitted yesterday she danced the night away while her 2-year-daughter was dying of dehydration in a sweltering apartment. Tiny toddler Adrianna Maria DaSilva was abandoned for at least 33 hours in a 35C room before her mom discovered her dead on Sept. 9, 2002.

Clara DaSilva, 24, pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Justice David Watt will sentence her shortly after Jan. 17 following a five-day trial with one contested fact -- the allegation that her purse, with keys and cash, was stolen at a club the day of her child's death.   Read More ..

Canadian Press - New Brunswick woman ruled responsible in burning of baby's body

New Brunswick woman ruled responsible in burning of baby's body

ST. STEPHEN, N.B. - A New Brunswick judge says a woman who burned and dismembered her newborn son is criminally responsible for her actions.

Becky Sue Morrow earlier pleaded guilty to offering an indignity to a dead body and disposing of a newborn with the intent of concealing a delivery.

Judge David Walker ruled Friday that the 27-year-old woman may have been suffering from a mental disorder when she delivered the baby but that that was not the case when the baby's body was burned and its remains hidden.

It is not known if the baby was alive at the time of birth.

At a hearing last month, the court heard contrasting reports from the two psychiatrists. One said Ms. Morrow was in a "disassociated" mental state when the crime occurred. The other said she clearly planned her actions and understood the consequences.

Associated Press logo

Woman convicted of killing 3 kids after custody battle

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, USA, August 26, 2008

HELSINKI, Finland - A court in Finland has convicted a woman of murdering her three young children and has given her a life sentence.

The Espoo District Court says Thai-born Yu-Hsiu Fu was found guilty of strangling her 8-year-old twin daughters and 1-year-old son in her home.

She tried to kill herself afterward.

The verdict on Tuesday says the 41-year-old woman was found to be of sound mind at the time of the murders.

Court papers show the murders were preceded by a bitter custody battle with her Finnish husband who was living separately from her at the time of the murders.

A life sentence in Finland mean convicts usually serve at least 11 years in prison.

Mothers Who Kill Their Children
Canadian Press - Mother child abuse - sentenced 16 years in jail

Ontario woman convicted of son's starvation death granted full parole

Canadian Press
Wednesday, May. 22, 2002

KINGSTON, Ont. (CP) -- An Ontario woman who was sentenced to 16 years in prison in one of Canada's stiffest penalties for child abuse will be released on full parole after serving less than half her term.

Lorelei Turner, 38, and her husband Steven were convicted of manslaughter in July 1995 for beating and starving their three-year-old son John to death in a case that horrified Canadians who followed the trial.

But on Wednesday, a panel of the National Parole Board in this eastern Ontario city ruled Turner will be released but placed on probation until July 2011.

Until then, she must remain within 25 kilometres of her residence, is not allowed unsupervised contact with anyone under 16, and must continue to receive counselling.

"The board would have looked at the risk and obviously found a low risk to reoffend," Carol Sparling of the National Parole Board said Wednesday.

AAP

Yeeda Topham killed her baby son but walks free

Australian Associated Press
December 05, 2008

A WOMAN who killed her infant son by jumping with him from the eighth floor of a city apartment block has walked free after being convicted of manslaughter.

Yeeda Topham, 40, of Roleystone near Perth, had pleaded guilty in the West Australian Supreme Court to a charge of unlawfully killing 21-month-old James Topham on November 5 last year.    Read More ..

Mother Charged with Killing Her Baby

Firefighters Find Baby's Body In Washing Machine

Fire Officials Claim Fire Intentionally Set

NBC4-TV, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

LOS ANGELES, USA -- Murder charges are expected to be filed against a woman whose infant son's body was found in a washing machine after firefighters doused what they say was an intentionally set fire, authorities said Tuesday.

Latunga Starks, 32, was taken into custody last night, according to the Sheriff's Department Web site.

Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Dennis Shirey identified the mother and her nearly 3-month-old son, Michael Kelvin Thompson.

Toronto Sun - Mother found guilty of killing all 4 babies

"Murder in the nursery"
Australian mom killed her 4 babies

TORONTO SUN, May 23, 2003

It seemed a tragic coincidence - at first.

Craig and Kathleen Folbigg's first son died in his sleep at 19 days old. Their next child, Patrick, died two years later at nine months.

Still, it was after their fourth baby died before Australian police suspected something was terribly wrong.

In Sydney's New South Wales State Supreme Court this week, Kathleen Folbigg, 35, was found guilty of killing all four of her babies.

The jury's work would have been made much easier if they had been allowed to read Folbigg's entire secret diary. In it, she practically confesses to following in her dad's deadly footsteps.

"Obviously I am my father's daughter," the Australian woman wrote in her diary Oct. 14, 1996, having already killed three of her four children.

"But I think losing my temper and being frustrated and everything has passed. I now just let things happen and go with the flow. An attitude I should of had with all my children, if given the chance, I'll have it with the next one."

Folbigg was pregnant at the time with her fourth child. She would go on to kill her as well.

Mother Shoots father, has his Baby and then kills the Baby and Herself

Investigation into the Death of Zachary Andrew Turner (18 July 2002 to 18 August 2003)

Zachary Turner, a 13 months old baby, died at the hands of his fugitive mother, Dr. Shirley Turner, who killed him and then committed suicide on August 18, 2003.

Turner was facing extradition to the United States to stand trial for the 2001 murder of Dr. Andrew Bagby, Zachary's father.

28-year-old Dr. Andrew Bagby was found shot to death in Keystone State Park, 55 kilometres northeast of Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A.

Turner fled to Newfoundland, Canada where Zachary was born. She was out on bail against the wishes of U.S. authorities at the time of Zachary's death. Read More ..

Boy, 8, found dead; mom faces charge

Canadian Press, (various newspapers across Canada, including the Toronto Star) Aug. 16, 2006.

ISLE LA MOTTE, Vt. A Montreal mother recovering from alleged self-inflicted wounds will be charged in the coming days with murdering her 8-year-old son, whose body was found in Lake Champlain, a Vermont state attorney said today.

I am going to prepare a charge of first-degree murder, Grand Isle States Attorney David Miller said in a telephone interview. Read More ..

Mothers Who Kill Their Own Children

AAP

Affair led to mother murdering her own kids

Days after buying another woman Valentine's Day flowers, a Sydney father came home to find a trail of blood leading him to the bodies of his two young children lying next to their mother, a court has been told.

Australian Associated Press
Aug 24 2009

The woman had given the couple's three-year-old daughter and four-year-old son rat poison and an unidentified pink liquid before smothering them and killing them, court papers said.

She then tried to take her own life, the NSW Supreme Court was told.

Doctors agree the mother, from Canley Heights in Sydney's west, was suffering from "major depression" when she poisoned her children on February 19 last year.

She has pleaded not guilty to the two murders by reason of mental illness.

As her judge-alone trial began, the mother's lawyer told Justice Clifton Hoeben his client didn't think life was worth living after learning about her husband's affair.

Wicked mum murdered son, 8, with electrical cables after he caught her in sex romps with his granddad

The Mirror, UK, October 19 2016

Vicious Veronica Panarello throttled her son Loris to death and abandoned his body in a remote gully after he found out about the fling.

Veronica Panarello, the mother-killer

The "manipulative" mum,  wept as she was jailed for 30 years at a court in Italy on Monday

 

A wicked mum who brutally murdered her eight-year-old son after he allegedly discovered she was having an affair with his grandfather has been jailed.

Vicious Veronica Panarello throttled her son Loris Stival with electrical cables and abandoned his body in a remote gully after he found out about the fling.

The "manipulative" mum wept as she was jailed for 30 years at a court in Italy on Monday.

Panarello, 28, had tried to pretend her son had been abducted to cover up the horrendous killing in November 2014.

Panarello throttled her eight-year-old son Loris to death with electrical cables. Read More ..