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The Jeffery Baldwin Story
Children's Aid Neglect
Mike Oliveira, Canadian Press
Published: Friday, April 07, 2006
TORONTO -- The grandparents of a five-year-old boy who was locked up and left to wither and die in a cold, fetid room were
convicted of second-degree murder Friday in what police described as one of the worst cases of child abuse Canada has ever
seen.
Fifty-four-year-old Elva Bottineau and Norman Kidman, 53, were supposed to save Jeffrey Baldwin and his siblings from a life
of abuse at the hands of their birth parents.
Instead, the pair used the children as a source of income, collecting government support cheques in their names while confining
the young ones to what police described as "a horrible room'' that was "harsh, dark, cold and damp.''
"This has been one of the most horrific child abuse cases involving murder that I've ever come across _ in fact, I think,
that this nation has ever seen,'' said Toronto police Det. Mike Davis, the lead investigator on the case.
Other officers remarked that they'd seen nothing like it in three decades.
Court heard Jeffrey was hidden away in the unheated bedroom for as long as 14 hours a day, breathing in the stench of his
own urine and feces.
Police described the child's room as "extremely shocking,'' with wet uncarpeted floors, mattresses soaked through and littered
with stains, bags of filthy diapers throughout, and no toys in sight.
Jeffrey, who weighed just 21 pounds when he died in November 2002, was treated like a dog: he ate out of a bowl with his fingers
and often drank from a toilet when he was thirsty.
Jeffrey and his sister were locked up so frequently that regular visitors to the home often had no idea they even lived there.
Court heard it took several weeks of repeated visits until they finally learned of what was called "bedroom number two.''
Although the siblings lived in squalor, the rest of the house was normal, including the living quarters of other children
living in the house, court was told.
The tragic details of Jeffrey's short life were read once more into the record Friday in a lengthy decision by Justice David
Watt, which took around six hours to read.
Emergency crews were shocked when they found Jeffrey's frail body.
Years of malnutrition stunted his growth and destroyed his body, leaving him emaciated without body fat.
Paramedics said he didn't look like any child they'd ever seen before. He was so small, had sunken eyes, and veins and bones
jutted from his body. Doctors later said he had more bacteria growth on his skin than they had ever seen.
He died of starvation and pneumonia, weighing less than he did when he turned one-year-old.
When his sister was rescued from the house, she too showed obvious signs of starvation, skinny limbs, a distended belly and
open sores.
Jeffrey's paternal grandmother, Susan Dimitriadis, said she was relieved by the verdict, and had been expecting the worst.
"I was afraid they'd get away with it,'' Dimitriadis said. "They needed to be convicted of this because my grandson is now
dead and I miss him.''
The grandparents were also found guilty of forcible confinement for the sister's care.
Kidman spent almost the entire day in court hunched over with his head in his hands, looking down. Bottineau stared straight
ahead for most of the proceedings but began to slump in her chair as the verdict was being read.
Her lawyer Anil Kapoor had argued his client did not deliberately kill her grandson. He cited a psychologist who testified
Bottineau was mentally handicapped with a personality disorder that prevented her from seeing Jeffrey waste away.
But another expert witness, Lisa Ramshaw, contradicted that assessment and said Bottineau had "a higher order of thinking
than someone with mental retardation'' and lied to protect herself.
Lawyer Catherine Glaister told Watt that Kidman did not plan to kill Jeffrey and had little involvement in the children's
lives.
Immediately upon the verdict's release, Ontario's chief coroner declared that an inquest would be held, although no date was
made available.
"The circumstances surrounding Jeffrey's death have been a matter of public interest,'' Dr. Barry McLellan's office said in
a release.
"Issues to be addressed at the inquest include the Toronto Catholic Children's Aid Society's involvement in Jeffrey's placement
and the role that agency, and others, had in monitoring his well-being prior to his death.''
The Catholic Children's Aid Society released a statement saying it deeply regrets Jeffrey's tragic death.
"Knowing that we could have done more to prevent Jeffrey's death has been heartbreaking for everyone involved,'' said executive
director Mary A. McConville.
"The CCAS wishes to assure the public both that we have made substantial changes to our operating practices to prevent a tragedy
like this from happening again and that we will co-operate fully with the coroner in the inquest into Jeffrey's death.''
The case will resume on April 12 to discuss sentencing.
© Canadian Press 2006
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CRIME: DEATH OF KATELYNN SAMPSON
Slain girl 'failed' by system, advocate says
KATE HAMMER
August 6, 2008
By the age of 7, Katelynn Sampson was failed by at least two child service agencies and all the protections they are meant
to offer, according to her family and the provincial child advocate.
Katelynn was found dead Sunday morning in the second-floor apartment of a woman who had been entrusted with her care through
the hands of the Children's Aid Society and Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, according to her mother, Bernice
Sampson.
The woman, Donna Irving, was charged Sunday with second-degree murder and remains in police custody.
The round-faced third-grader slept on a bedroom floor and showed signs that she was assaulted on an ongoing basis, according
to police.
The Globe and Mail
With both agencies declining to comment on their involvement in Katelynn's case yesterday, exactly how the young girl slipped
through cracks in the protocol and routine protections provided by child-service agencies remained unclear.
Meanwhile, the darkest details of her short life emerged through an autopsy performed at the Hospital for Sick Children.
By evening, results were not available because, according to homicide Detective Sergeant Steve Ryan, the severity and nature
of her injuries had caused the autopsy to take longer than expected.
He called the state of the child's body "probably the worst thing I've seen in 20 years of policing."
Irwin Elman, chief advocate for the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, said: "There are a number of
points of protection and they all failed for Katelynn.
Child Welfare has what's thought to be a pretty strict screening process."
That process generally includes a background check and a home inspection. But Donna Irving has "violent crimes on her record,"
Det. Sgt. Ryan said.
A spokesperson for CAS said confidentiality restrictions prevented discussion of Katelynn's case and referred reporters to
the Native Child and Family Services agency.
"We are particularly concerned that Native Child and Family Services had something to do with the placement of Katelynn with
Donna Irving," said Kenn Richard, the agency's executive director, adding that an internal review was being conducted.
Yesterday evening, investigators began a search of Ms. Irving's apartment and appealed to those with knowledge of Katelynn's
life or any abuse to contact police.
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