Caretaker accused of Killing a Child

[Luba]

CANOE -- CNEWS - Crime: Mom shaken as girl's accused killer silent

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Horrific!

[Fayebelle]

This is very very sad


I have to say though- I think there is something to this story not yet reported. Perhaps this is part of the "publication ban" (is that normal??)

The Mom's actions, attitudes, and history do not seem to add up. The cause of death is not listed. The other children are not mentioned a great deal. Etc....


I would like updates if you get them as this story unfolds Luba. It's hard to imagine anyone doing this to a child- especially one in their care- but I also hate condemning a person without all of the evidence.

[Vautrin]

Well, as I have been working with a media watchdog, any information pertaining to under-18s is quite restricted. Also details of the murder investigation should not be released wantonly, if
a) there might be others involved in the death of the child.
b) there might be motives in play, that could increase risk for relatives, etc.
c) the information about the mother's situation, could also be relevant to the court case.

I think however the biggest issue from a media POV is naming the suspected murderer (especially given the calls for people's justice).

[Fayebelle]

It sure seems they are portraying the caregiver as the murderer. Before the autopsy even.

[Vautrin]

Originally Posted by Fayebelle

It sure seems they are portraying the caregiver as the murderer. Before the autopsy even.

Yup. But the caregiver has two kids of her own (according to the article). She may have tried to do something similar (judging by symptoms) to her own offspring. I don't know.

Another thing: what would exactly be the gain for the public to know how the kid was murdered? If it was accidental (e.g. getting run over, when not taking note of the traffic), then there are more reasons to publish that as a cause of death, than the horrific stories such as happened in the bus, near Alberta (which since then has been copied at least once since then, in Greece!).

[Fayebelle]

But why was the child in her care to begin with? How much contact did the mother or other people have with the child? How recent were the "obvious signs of trauma"?


As to the reasons for printing such a story- Let parents' think they are doing SO MUCH BETTER than this family (sick but true). Warning to abusers. Etc...

In other words- pure Sensationalism.

[Vautrin]

Why? Apparently the mom lost custody of her child in January. So we can assume that there are serious issues involved in that respect. (I know this is obvious, but for anyone who did not read the link, so the argument is a bit more flowing).

You have to have serious issues, before something like that happens in Canada. Drugs addiction, psychologically highly unstable, child neglect, or something like that.

Sad thing is, is that such information should not be published, as it is harmful to the character of the mother (she would have to give her consent for that, which of course will not happen; publishing such info could lead to lawsuits, which she would win ()). Not to mention that any such information could be part of the evidence that is being discussed in court.

And thus we get the victim's mom portrayed as some kind of angel, when in reality it is likely that both women in this story are messed up.

[Fayebelle]

Again- I think jumping to the conclusion on the latter is a bit hasty since this article DOES seem to sway opinion TOWARDS the birth mother- who says she gave her child to this woman for a time due to "financial problems"

That would make sense if the new lady didn't have LEGAL guardianship. If she was just watching the child for some time.



In the US freedom of the press means we are used to these stories being tried in papers before the court date- and we've seen how some of those turn out. However such sensation BEFORE an autopsy seems completely irresponsible IMHO


I think it's terribly unfortunate to assume this woman is guilty based on such a vague article. Will people still feel for the birth mother if the autopsy shows the child died of some before now unknown birth defect?

There are still many questions and I am interested to see how this plays out. My heart goes out to to all the innocents in this story

[Vautrin]

Being poor itself is not sufficient reason to lose custody. How often does that happen in the US, when the social security net is far less encompassing than in Canada? Not too often, I would think.

If drug addictions are in play, homelessness (which I severely doubt), or something like that, then yes ... not making $2 k a month does not qualify.

We get half the story, and a sensationalist twist to it.

Mind you, we had a somewhat similar case in the Netherlands. In which the stepfather cut up his stepdaughter in 5 or 6 pieces (limbs, torso, head) , and then dumped them in various waters across the country. That was really sick. "Mom" (who knew what happened, and could not care less; they tried eloping to Spain, where they were arrested, if memory serves) and stepdad have been tried and convicted.

The Child Protection Agency also clearly failed, so the case manager of this unfortunate child has also been tried. Can't for the life of me remember the exact outcome of that, although the whole CPA was pissed that the trial took place in the first place. We must not forget that hindsight makes you see things that you would have missed otherwise.

It is hasty, but I think the problem is not this article, in particular. See the big crowds that had gathered. Normally that would not have happened, unless there was extensive media coverage before.

[Luba]

Ont. girl's wounds 'complicated:' Police


"When Toronto police found the body of seven-year-old Katelynn Sampson Sunday morning, the little girl, who apparently slept on the floor, appeared to have suffered the worst trauma that one homicide detective said he has seen in 20 years."

[Fayebelle]

“You don’t know what goes on behind closed doors.”

Truest statement from the article!


This article paints a different portrait of the biological family and still leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Wonder why nobody- including child services - saw anything suspicious before.Wonder where Johnson was after 2am in the morning? Wonder how this woman would have thought to pass this off as choking if there was so much trauma evident?

Wonder Wonder Wonder.


One thing for sure- the poor child was failed by many people around her

[Fayebelle]

Any new updates? I'll Google if you aren't aware of any off the top of your melons