Appeal for B.C. woman convicted in 8-year-old daughter's death dismissed
CTV
The appeal of a B.C. mother convicted of second-degree murder in the death of an eight-year-old girl has been dismissed.
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VANCOUVER -- The appeal of a B.C. mother convicted of second-degree murder in the death of an eight-year-old girl has been dismissed.
Lisa Batstone learned the decision Friday relating to the suffocating death of her daughter, Teagan.
The appellant had alleged the judge in her trial was wrong to conclude she intended the death, claiming a misapprehension of evidence and citing speculation as to how the offence actually occurred. She and her legal team said there was a failure in her trial to explain how evidence supported the argument that she had intended to kill Teagan.
But the panel of judges assigned to review her case did not side with Batstone, writing in their ruling the only thing the judge misunderstood was concerning how long it would take to die by smothering, but that this wouldn't have changed the outcome in the ruling that she intended to do so.
The three appellate court judges wrote in a ruling posted online Friday morning that the judge did make two "erroneous conclusions" regarding how the death occurred, but called these errors "harmless," and again, said they had no impact on the ultimate ruling.
And lastly, they said, "the trial judge did not find that every after-the-fact action was consistent with intent, rather she properly considered actions relevant to intent and the defences raised by the appellant."
