A conviction against a Cranbrook woman for the death of a child in her care has been quashed.
Court officials said Tammy Bouvette initially pleaded guilty in 2011 for the death of 19-month-old Iyanna Teeple, but new evidence surfaced to overturn the decision.
The B.C. Court of Appeal said key evidence was withheld from Bouvette’s defence.
“The failure of the Crown and/or police to disclose relevant information violated the appellant’s right to make full answer and defence,” said the court’s ruling. “It renders the appellant’s guilty plea invalid as it deprived her of an opportunity to make an informed choice about how to proceed.”
According to the three-member appeals panel, the conviction had to be set aside as “a product of a miscarriage of justice.”
“The evidence and circumstances establish a reasonable possibility that the appellant would not have pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death had full disclosure been made,” the ruling said.
However, the judges ruled an acquittal was not the appropriate course of action, and a retrial was considered instead. But they said that didn’t make sense either.
“As the appellant has suffered serious prejudice as a consequence of the disclosure breaches and she has served the entirety of her sentence, ordering a new trial would constitute an abuse of process,” said the court. “The appropriate remedy is a judicial stay of proceedings.”
Bouvette was initially charged with second-degree murder following the death of a child in 2011.
The 19-month-old drowned in a bathtub while Bouvette was babysitting and she had phoned 9-1-1
Court documents said the child was resuscitated at the East Kootenay Regional Hospital, and airlifted to Calgary, but later died.
The case concluded in 2013 with Bouvette’s conviction of criminal negligence causing death. She served a one-year prison sentence as a result.
