The mother of a seven-year-old girl who died under nebulous circumstances in Laval in January 2021 won’t have to serve jail time for failing to come to her seven-year-old daughter’s assistance.
That was the ruling of a Quebec Superior Court judge at the Palais de Justice de Laval last week. Justice Yvan Poulin said the 38-year-year old mother, originally from Afghanistan, had been in a unique situation leading up to the death of the girl who was suffering from mental problems.
Neither the mother’s nor the girl’s name can be disclosed because of a publication ban imposed by the court. The cause of death was determined to have been mostly from burns to 75 per cent of her body resulting from hot water.
According to information in the judge’s report, the girl’s younger sister claimed she saw a niece pour hot water on the girl in an attempt to control her behaviour. However, the judge also noted elsewhere that false claims by at least one family member were made to the police.
Testimony in the report suggested that the girl, while refusing to have anything to do with her mother, had violent tantrums resulting in injuries to the mother’s face. Although the mother was charged with failing to provide the necessities of life to the girl, the judge questioned why a niece wasn’t also charged since she had been delegated some responsibilities for the girl’s care.
The niece reportedly explained injuries the girl sustained as being self-inflicted, according to the judge’s report. Prosecution had been seeking a prison term of two years less a day. However, the judge agreed with the defence lawyer that the mother should receive two years of supervised probation, including 240 hours of community service.
Sainte-Rose teen arrested after man stabbed in his home
A 16-year-old girl was arrested by Laval Police early last Monday morning after a man was stabbed at a home in Sainte-Rose.
The LPD said a 9-1-1 call they received just after midnight alerted them to the assault, after which officers arrived at the scene on Rue Blaise.
The victim, identified as a man in his early 50s, was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to an LPD spokesperson. Investigators were expected to interview him, but were waiting for his condition to improve.
The teenage suspect was arrested at the scene of the incident and was expected to meet with investigators. She was also expected to be arraigned at the Palais de Justice de Laval on Saint Martin Blvd. Monday morning or afternoon. Police would not comment on the relationship between the suspect and the victim, although they confirmed she is a minor, but could say nothing more as her identity is confidential under youth protection law.
LPD officer suspended after wrecking police car
A Laval police officer has been suspended for 15 days without pay after he wrecked a patrol car and damaged five other vehicles when he hit a patch of ice while pursuing a suspect at high speed.
A provincial police ethics committee made the decision to suspend Félix Gagnon for the Novemver 2019 incident. Just before 5:30 a.m. that day, Gagnon and a partner responded to a 9-1-1 call about a potential domestic-violence incident.
The woman who called said her ex-spouse was outside her home and seemed to be drunk. The man was known to police as a suspected pimp with a record for becoming violent.
When the two police officers arrived at the intersection of Laval Blvd. and Trait-Carré St., Gagnon spotted a black pickup truck, which was the only other vehicle travelling near the intersection that early morning. Gagnon told the investigators that the driver of the pickup truck saw his patrol car and accelerated away.
The police chase continued on to McNamara St., where Gagnon travelled through eight intersections at speeds reaching 110 kilometres per hour in zones designated for 50 and 40 km/h. The committee was told there were no other vehicles in the area at the time and there seemed also to be no pedestrians.
When the pickup truck made a left-hand turn, the patrol car tried to follow, but sped over a patch of black ice. Gagnon lost control in a residential neighbourhood and the cruiser crashed into five vehicles parked close to an apartment building. Both officers suffered minor injuries, but the other officer had to take five months off from work to recover.
In the meantime, the patrol car was a total loss, and the five parked cars were left with damage described as medium to minor. The investigators determined the crash was caused mostly by the presence on the street of black ice. However, they also noted the police car was travelling at 118 km/h when it through an intersection seconds before the crash.
