Friday, January 30, 2009

Murder most foul

This is about a vicious a crime as can be imagined. A child becomes a nuisance and so you kill her? There seems to be no mitigating factors at all. What could have been in the killer's mind? Was this a moment of madness or is this an example of ordinary evil? Making it even more ordinary is the Tim Horton's connection.

BRIDGEWATER, N.S. - "Mommy, don't," were the last words Karissa Boudreau spoke as her mother strangled her to death in the woods outside of Hebbville, N.S.

Her last words were read in court Friday morning from an agreed upon statement of facts as Penny Boudreau, 34, pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of her 12-year-old daughter.The woman wiped away tears as she was led away from Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Bridgewater, N.S. Crown attorney Denise Smith said Boudreau addressed the packed courtroom prior to her sentencing.She was, she told the judge, sorrier than anyone would ever know.

Smith said the agreed statement of facts was difficult for some in the courtroom to hear."There were sobs and tears as the facts were read," Smith said.

"The vast majority, except for police investigators and family members, were hearing these things for the first time. The facts are shocking and very difficult piece to hear. There were some visceral reactions to that by way of tears."

"All dreams are gone," said Paul Boudreau, Karissa's father and Penny's ex-husband, in a victim-impact statement, "the centre of my happiness is gone."

Under the Criminal Code of Canada, Penny Boudreau is facing a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for 20 years due to her conviction.

Boudreau reported her daughter Karissa missing Jan. 27, 2008, sparking massive searches across the Bridgewater area, about 105 kilometres southeast of Halifax.

Boudreau told police she had an argument with her daughter in a mall parking lot. She then claimed she left her daughter in the car as she did some quick shopping. When she returned, Karissa was gone, she said.Karissa had been living with her mother and her mother's boyfriend, Vernon MacCumber, in a two-bedroom apartment in the town of about 8,000. Tensions between the mother and daughter had ran high ever since Karissa had moved from her father's house inShelburne County in November, 2007.

MacCumber, according to the statement of facts, had told Boudreau that living in their apartment felt cramped with her daughter around.

Boudreau then decided to kill her daughter, court heard.

She drove her daughter to a Sobey's parking lot, where she phoned her boyfriend to say Karissa had gone missing.

Boudreau then drove to nearby Hebbville, where she chased her daughter of the red Dodge Neon, forced her to the ground, and choked her with a piece of twine.

Court heard she could feel her daughter struggling beneath her.With her daughter's body slumped over in the front seat of her car, Boudreau drove to a Tim Horton's and threw out the twine in a coffee cup. She then drove to the LeHave River and disposed of Karissa's body, court heard.

The search for Karissa sprawled around the region, as RCMP dive teams scoured nearby rivers while a helicopter from the Department of Natural Resources patrolled the air, looking for any sign of the missing sixth-grader.Two weeks later, Karissa's body was found on the banks of the LaHave River. Soon after, police revealed that the girl's death was a homicide.Following a massive investigation into Karissa's death, police arrested Boudreau in Halifax on June 14 and charged her with the first-degree murder. ...
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Without more details such as a report from a psychiatrist, I see have two observations.
Was this a moment of madness or is this an example of ordinary evil?
and
MacCumber, according to the statement of facts, had told Boudreau that living in their apartment felt cramped with her daughter around.

I seem people do similar acts in their delusions/stress/wishes...

So it's quite possible that this was a kind of madness...

Anonymous said...

I was in tears as I read the details. I cannot imagine any mother doing that. No punishment is harsh enough for this poor excuse for a mother. I hope she ROTS IN HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!