Acquittal ‘Justified’ for BC Woman Convicted in Toddler Death, Supreme Court of Canada Says

The Supreme Court of Canada is seen in Ottawa on Aug. 10, 2022. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

A woman convicted in the death of a 19-month-old child more than a decade ago should be acquitted, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled.

Tammy Bouvette was charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of criminal negligence after the 19-month-old girl she had been babysitting drowned in a bathtub in 2011 in Cranbrook, B.C. She was sentenced to 12 years in jail and probation.

An independent review into the case in 2020 found that Bouvette had not been provided disclosure from the Crown which included peer reviews of an autopsy report by Dr. Evan Matshes that said the conclusions in his report were “unreasonable.”

The autopsy by Matshes, who was then the assistant chief medical examiner in Alberta, concluded the cause of death was drowning and that the manner of death was undetermined, the court decision said. He said the “child had recent injuries,” including bruises on her forehead, that may have accounted for her drowning.

One of the key pieces of information the Crown failed to disclose was that a formal investigation was launched in Alberta into the autopsies performed by Matshes. The Crown was aware of the investigation and peer reviews before Bouvette pleaded guilty, but did not disclose the information to her or her lawyer, the Supreme Court decision said.

An appeal court mandated that Bouvette’s conviction be quashed in 2023, and a stay of proceedings was issued due to insufficient disclosure; but she was not acquitted because the court concluded “there was evidence on the record upon which a reasonable jury” could convict her.

Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Kasirer disagreed, however, saying an acquittal was “justified in the interests of justice.”

At the time of the incident, Bouvette was 27 and the mother of four children, the court document says.

“Since her conviction, her life has been marred by addiction, homelessness, poverty, and poor mental and physical health,” the court decision said, adding that she also lost custody of her children.

Justice Sheilah Martin added to the court decision, saying while she believes an acquittal is justified, the case also calls into question the need for a framework for dealing with wrongful conviction cases.

“For those narrow set of cases which bear the hallmarks of wrongful convictions, courts of appeal should apply a framework to determine whether an acquittal is in the interests of justice,” she wrote in the decision.

Martin also noted that all interveners in the case, including Innocence Canada, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the Independent Criminal Defence Advocacy Society “implored” the court to develop a framework for appeals courts when handling a miscarriage of justice case.

“Whenever miscarriages of justice occur, they merit the full attention of the justice system and this Court,” Martin wrote. “A lack of clarity about when to enter an acquittal to remedy a miscarriage of justice risks undermining the ability of courts to exercise this discretion.”