Woman beaten to death by boyfriend may have been saved if 911 call properly labelled, judge hears
CBC
The life of a Calgary woman who suffered years of domestic violence and was ultimately murdered by her on-again, off-again partner of six years, could have been saved if a 911 operator had labelled the call as a request for help, a judge heard.
On Tuesday, Brandon Yellowfly, 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his spouse, Autumn Crosschild.
Crosschild, 25, was beaten to death by Yellowfly in June 2022.
Details of the crime come from an agreed statement of facts read aloud by prosecutor Aleksandra Simic.
Court heard that over a seven-day period, between June 10 and 17, police were called to check on Crosschild several times.
On June 14, minutes after the fatal attack most likely occurred, the man who lived below Crosschild called 911 to report that he could hear his female neighbour being attacked and was concerned she would be murdered.
But the 911 dispatcher incorrectly labelled the call as a verbal disturbance, so when officers showed up and nobody answered their knocks, they left, believing they did not have grounds to forcibly enter the home.
At that time, Crosschild was likely inside, where she would remain for three days, dying of her potentially treatable injuries.
"There existed several potential lifesaving measures for the head injuries inflicted on Ms. Crosschild," reads the agreed statement of facts.
"With immediate medical intervention, the injuries sustained by Ms. Crosschild were potentially survivable."
In the week leading to her death, Crosschild told her sister she wanted to leave her relationship but was scared she'd be killed by Yellowfly.
On June 10, one week before her death, Crosschild's mother called police requesting a welfare check on her daughter.
During a meeting with police at a gas station, Yellowfly stood nearby as police spoke with Crosschild. She was upset but did not have any visible injuries.
She confirmed to police that she was OK and left with Yellowfly.
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