Life sentence for murdering 7-year-old Katelynn opens the way to an inquest
Life sentence for murdering 7-year-old Katelynn opens the way to an inquest
Published on Tuesday May 01, 2012
Betsy Powell
Courts Bureau
The life sentences handed to Donna Irving and Warren Johnson on Tuesday for killing 7-year-old Katelynn Sampson have cleared the way to calling a coroner’s inquest for which child welfare advocates have waited patiently.
The little girl died Aug. 3, 2008, from “complications of multiple blunt force injuries” inflicted over a prolonged period of time.
Related: Why wasn't Katelynn Sampson kept safe?
In the wake of her death, the Ontario government passed reform legislation that, among other things, now requires non-parents applying for custody to provide a police background check as part of their application.
The move was a response to the furor that erupted after it was revealed a family court judge had granted final custody of Katelynn to Irving on June 6, 2008, despite her long history of crack cocaine abuse and convictions for prostitution, drugs and violent offences.
Katelynn began living with Irving, Johnson and their two young sons in May 2007 as the result of an informal arrangement with the girl’s biological mother, Bernice Sampson, struggling to control her crack addiction.
Then 45, Sampson had lost other children to the care of the Children’s Aid Society and didn’t want to lose Katelynn.
In fall 2007, Irving formally applied to the court for custody of Katelynn. But by the spring of 2008, Irving, now 33, had contacted the Children’s Aid Society and told an emergency after-hours worker that Katelynn was too difficult to manage and she wanted her out of her home.
Nevertheless, Irving continued to seek custody and, at three court hearings held over five months, unsuccessful attempts were made to locate Katelynn’s biological father, Mark Letang, to get his consent.
Because the agreement between Sampson and Irving had been private, child welfare officials — who are required to investigate prospective parents and guardians in child custody and public adoption cases — were not involved.
At none of the court hearings was there any mention of Irving’s suitability as a caregiver, the family’s financial circumstances, her criminal past or the fact two of her own biological children had ended up with the Children’s Aid Society.
Also absent in the court proceedings was Katelynn herself, her name mentioned just seven times in transcripts of the proceedings.
“Where was Katelynn in all of this? Just what was she thinking? How was she feeling?” Ontario Child Advocate Irwin Elman asked in 2008.
According to medical evidence presented at the preliminary hearing, Katelynn was already undergoing severe abuse by the time Irving was granted final custody by Justice Debra Paulseth on June 6, 2008.
By then, Katelynn, a Grade 2 student at Parkdale Public School, had already missed six weeks of classes while spending the final, agonizing days of her young life in the Irving/Johnson blood-splattered apartment.
Paulseth could not be reached for comment Tuesday.