Jeffrey’s short journey and the road to justice

* On Jan. 20, 1997 Jeffrey Baldwin is born at Toronto’s Doctors Hospital weighing 10 pounds, the child of Yvonne Kidman and Richard Baldwin.

* In April, 28, 1998, Jeffrey and a sister, were taken from their parents and given to their maternal grandparents, Elva Bottineau and Norman Kidman, under a court order after allegations of abuse were made against their parents. The grandparents received social assistance for caring for them. (In December, 1995, the court gave custody of his other two siblings to the couple.)

* In late 2000, a children’s worker notices Jeffrey has a bruise under one eye. It is passed off as an accident and the file is closed Sept. 15, 2000 with the note: “No indication of imminent risk to the children.”

* By 2001, Jeffrey and his next oldest sister are regularly locked in their bedroom at night and the furnace vents to the room are closed. The room also served as their bathroom. When let out, they were forced to eat meals on a mat by the door, using their hands. Eventually Jeffrey’s sister was toilet-trained and enrolled in school. He remained in the house.

* On Nov. 30, 2002, Bottineau called 911 to report a child not breathing. Emergency crews arrive to find Jeffrey’s wasted body covered in sores, bruises and abrasions. The official cause of death is septic shock. He weighed 21 pounds, a pound less than he had on his first birthday.

* On March 19, 2003, Bottineau and Kidman are both arrested on first-degree murder charges in the death of Jeffrey Baldwin.

* On Sept 8, 2005, the trial by judge begins. Bottineau and Kidman both plead not guilty to first-degree murder in his death, and unlawful confinement of one of their granddaughters.

* Jan 17, 2006: The trial ends. In his closing remarks, Bottineau’s lawyer Anil Kapoor said his client never intended to kill Jeffrey and added that with Bottineau’s IQ of 69, she never thought that he might die.

* April 7, 2006: Justice David Watt convicts Bottineau, 54, and Kidman, 53, of second-degree murder. The province announces an inquest will be held and “issues to be addressed at the inquest include the Toronto Catholic Children’s Aid Society’s involvement in Jeffrey’s placement and the role that agency, and others, had in monitoring his well-being prior to his death.”

Sources: Toronto Star, CP

Compiled by Star Library