Quebec Bertrand St-Arnaud judge declared that the woman accused of abandoning her little child in June is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.
He rendered his decision in a Court Chamber in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, which, Monday morning. The woman, who cannot be identified due to a ban that protects her daughter, faced charges of abandonment of children and criminal negligence that causes bodily damage.
The three -year -old girl was the subject of intensive search when she was reported as missing in June. It was found alive three days later on the side of a road in Ontario, about 150 kilometers from where they had last seen it.
St-Arnaud said it was clear that the mother had mental health problems that prevented her from distinguishing the right thing from incorrect when she abandoned her son. According to the psychiatrist reported in the Court, it had an schizoofective disorder, which can lead to states of depression, mania and psychotic episodes.
Speaking outside the courtroom on Monday afternoon, the prosecutor of the crown, Lili Prévot-Gravel, said that the woman was experiencing a manic episode with psychotic symptoms such as auditory hallucinations when she abandoned her daughter.
In his report, the psychiatrist said that the mother’s psychological state improved after receiving medications, but she is still fragile.
St-Arnaud said the facts that led to charges against women were demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt.
According to the facts of the case read in court on Monday, the woman’s mental health had deteriorated for a period of several months and she believed that her daughter was possessed.
On the morning of June 15, he sent several text messages and emails to the co -workers who, according to the crown, exhibited its fragile mental state, without specifying the content. He also published a worrying video for Tiktok, holding the girl and saying: “You try again and this will become ugly.”
He quickly left his home at the western end of Montreal without his phone because he believed they were following her.
Montreal’s mother who lit an intensive search for three days in eastern Ontario after leaving her three -year -old daughter in a field faced childhood abandonment and criminal negligence that caused bodily damage.
A few hours later, the woman reported that her daughter disappeared after entering a store in Coteau-Du-Lac, which., About 50 kilometers west of Montreal. Store employees recalled that she acted erratically and said she had lost her son.
The crown said the woman was confused when she talked to police officers and offered dismantled comments.
Then there was a frantic search. On June 18, a thermal drone of the Provincial Police of Ontario saw the child in a ditch next to highway 417 near Casselman, Ontario.
“It was a hostile atmosphere for a child,” Prévost-Gravel told the judge.
Small child suffers from nightmares, fears of abandonment
The young woman, who is now under the custody of her father, suffers from nightmares. The father has been forced to stay at home so that he can be with her all the time.
“At this time, you can’t leave her alone, so she can’t work,” said Prévot-Gold. “It must always be in its presence, and there is fear of being abandoned, of course.” It will also require continuous psychiatric attention, said Prévost-Graver.
When it was found, the girl was severely dehydrated, dirty and had multiple insect bites and lesions of the poisonous ivy.
The girl had difficulty relaxing her fingers because she had kept her fists tight for so long. In addition, his diaper had not changed in days and, as a result, he was swollen and infected. He had to be hospitalized for four days.
A couple of days after the little boy, the mother’s lawyer, Olivier Béliveau, said his client had been living in danger and needed help. She is being arrested in a psychiatric hospital in Montreal, the Institut National of Psychiatrie Légle Philippe-Pinel.
The non -criminally responsible verdict means that the defendant suffered from a mental disorder at the time of his actions, making it unable to understand their nature or that they were wrong.
The verdict can cause mixed reactions, questions and confusion. That is particularly true in Quebec, which has more criminally responsible verdicts than any other province.
ST-ARNAUD will now have to determine whether the mother must remain in the psychiatric hospital or be discharged, with or without conditions.
If he remains in the hospital, the judge could occasionally order unaccompanied exits to help her reintegrate society. This route is recommended by the psychiatrist Dr. Marie-Michèle Boulanger, who evaluated the woman for 60 days.
Speaking Monday afternoon, Prévot-Gravel said the crown was satisfied with the recommendation of the psychiatrist and the reasoning behind this.
