Calgary baby killer granted day parole
Shelby Herchak went to prison without ever having to say how she killed her newborn son Daniel; five years later, finally telling authorities what she did helped convince the parole board to let her out.
The Parole Board of Canada granted day parole for Herchak on Thursday, clearing her to move from the Edmonton Institution for Women to a halfway house in the provincial capital.
Herchak is serving a 5 ½ - year sentence after pleading guilty to manslaughter — a process that required her to admit causing Daniel’s fatal head injuries on Aug. 9, 2010, but never compelled her to explain how or why.
For the first time on Thursday, Herchak spoke publicly about the violent death she inflicted on Daniel, who was just 26 days old when she killed him.
“I threw him to the ground,” Herchak told the two- member parole board panel during a hearing at the Edmonton Institution for Women.
Herchak, who was 18 when she killed Daniel, said she was addicted to drugs and binge- drinking, and was struggling to properly care for him.
Although she was living with her parents at the time, Herchak told the parole board shame prevented her from asking them for help.
On the night she killed Daniel, Herchak said she had cradled him in her arms after he woke up crying.
They both fell asleep in a reclining chair before Daniel suddenly woke up again and started screaming.
“I had frustration, I was so angry,” she said.
“I stood up and I dropped him on the ground.”
An autopsy showed Daniel suffered numerous injuries, including two skull fractures, dense bruising, brain bleeding and swelling, and extensive retinal hemorrhaging in both eyes.
“As soon as he stopped crying, I immediately took him to his change table and he was gasping for air,” she said.
Daniel died in hospital hours later.
The autopsy also found a prior brain injury that was seven to 15 days old.
Herchak admitted to the parole board she had been violent with Daniel before.
“I never hit him, but I’d shake him, put him on the bed roughly,” she said.
Since arriving in prison in May 2014, Herchak has moved to the minimum- security unit and earned 18 escorted day passes to attend church and support group meetings, all of which were incident-free.
Despite those positives, authorities were split on whether Herchak could be safely released from prison: while case workers at the institution supported Herchak’s parole application, Correctional Service of Canada workers in the community recommended against it.
Earlier reports on Herchak expressed doubts over whether she had accepted responsibility for the crime, and said several arrests before her trial demonstrated a history of not complying with release conditions.
But the parole board said Herchak demonstrated during 90 minutes of questioning that she is taking steps, through counselling and treatment, to deal with the anger and addictions that played a role in the crime and rehabilitate herself.
“What we saw today was a young lady who appears to be finally taking responsibility and finally admitting what happened,” said Jake Hiebert, who delivered the panel’s decision.
Herchak, now 23, told the parole board she plans to live in the Edmonton area — in part because of the notoriety of her crime in Calgary.
Although her parents remain in Calgary, Herchak said they regularly visit her in prison and are supportive.
The parole board imposed several conditions on Herchak, including requirements to abstain from alcohol and drugs, find a job, attend counselling and to report any relationships with men.
Herchak said she already has leads on a paid job and volunteer opportunities and is focused on finding a place to live if she progresses beyond day parole before the end of her sentence in November 2016.
“Right now, kids aren’t an option for me,” she said.
“Honestly, a relationship isn’t even in my brain.”
As soon as he stopped crying, I immediately took him to his change table and he was gasping for air.