WARNING: This story contains details of child abuse.
Ada Guan, the woman convicted of involuntary homicide in the death of her five -year -old daughter in Ottawa, is now sought by a Canada order after not appearing in court several times in preparation for the sentence.
Chloe Guan-Branch, 5, was found dead in her room in May 2020, days after her fifth birthday, after suffering abuse and negligence. He had suffered a breakdown of the bladder approximately one week before and was not taken for medical care.
Guan’s boyfriend, Justin Cassie-Berube, was also convicted of Chloe’s death. A judge of the Superior Court considered him guilty of criminal negligence that caused death, by not providing the needs of life, an assault that causes bodily damage and assault. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Guan then reached an agreement and declared himself guilty in the Superior Court of a single charge of involuntary homicide, appearing practically Calgary where he had been living.
She admitted that, like the mother of Guan’s branch, she had a duty to provide the needs of life, and that she could not do it and fulfilled her legal responsibilities when she knew that her daughter was suffering and needed help.
When Guan entered his plea in August 2024, his sentence was expected to take place a few months later.
This was to allow the defense to obtain a report on how the intimate trauma related to the violence of the couple inflicted Guan “in the hands of Cassie-Berube” decreases the severity of Guan’s guilt, said his lawyer Diane Magas to the Court.
There has been no news from the end of June
After months of delays, a sentence hearing was scheduled for June 17 in Ottawa, and Guan was ordered to appear in the court in person.
But she did not appear in person or by videoconference, and Magas told the Court that the sentence report had not been done.
The judge postponed the hearing and ordered Guan to appear virtually in July. Neither Guan nor Magas appeared then, and a trial coordinator told the Court that it seemed that the lawyer had agreed to postpone to August to establish a date in autumn for the sentence hearing. The judge postponed again and ordered Guan to appear in court practically in August.
Again, Guan did not appear. Magas told the court that the report would be available for the end of September, and that the sentence hearing could occur “in October or later.”
As for why Guan did not attend, Magas said that “part of this is my fault. I just tried to communicate with her yesterday to confirm that he attends today, and I have not been able to reach her yesterday to this morning. There is also a difference of time … I will make sure that I attend the next [appearance]”
In the Court on Friday, where Guan had been ordered once again to appear practically, Magas told the judge that he had not heard anything from Guan since the end of June. She said Guan has not responded to repeated texts, and that she can’t find Guan.
The judge of the Superior Court, Julianne Parfett, issued the bank order throughout the Canada at the request of the crown.
Magas declined to comment on CBC on Friday.
The birth of Guan’s branch in 2015 was an international sensation, which occurs aboard a plane during a Vancouver flight to Japan. His parents had no idea what they expected, and it happened on Mother’s Day, every day.
The child welfare authorities in BC took her away from her parents when she was three months old, and was not returned to Guan up to three years later.
By May 2020, the girl lived with Guan and Cassie-Berube in an Ottawa apartment. His bladder broke into unclear circumstances and in the following days his condition worsened to the point that he was frequently dirtying his bed, groaning pain and could no longer walk.
After his death, Guan and Cassie-Berube were accused of involuntary homicide, criminal negligence that caused death, not providing the need for life, assault and assault that caused bodily damage, and both were released on bail.
