One of the parents charged with starving and neglecting his twin toddlers was sentenced by a judge in an Edmonton courtroom Wednesday.
The father of the twin girls, who cannot be identified to protect the identities of his daughters, was sentenced to a total of 15 years behind bars, with credit for three years already served – leaving 12 years in his sentence.
The girls were found in May 2012 in their south Edmonton home, one of the girls, identified only as ‘Baby M’, was found by authorities in a car seat inside the house, without a pulse – she was starving, her ribs were showing and she had suffered a number of other severe injuries.
She was kept alive by life support, but four months later, she was taken off life support and passed away.
Her sister, referred to as ‘Baby S’ survived.
He had pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter, along with a number of others including aggravated assault and failing to provide the necessities of life.
Officials said there were a few mitigating factors that went into the decision – such as his guilty plea, and remorse he showed in a letter that was read in court last week that he wrote, in part the letter stated: “I will live with a broken heart for the rest of my life.”
The judge also called the acts “crimes of inhumanity against small children”, and said the abuse deserved strict punishment, that also included denying the man permission to see his son.
At the time the twin girls were found, the then 4-year-old boy was found in good health, and had been sleeping in a more proper bedroom.
With files from Dan Grummett
