System not to blame in children’s deaths: judge

An inquiry judge makes no recommendations in a report that says Alberta Children’s Services cannot be blamed in the deaths of two young boys.

Judge Raymond Bodnarek says Jason Cardinal was solely responsible for the murder of his sons Caleb and Gabriel in December 2010.

Caleb, who was six, and threeyear-old Gabriel were drugged and strangled during a court-authorized visit with their father in Edmonton.

Cardinal pleaded guilty to firstdegree murder and is serving a life sentence with no parole for 25 years.

Bodnarek notes that Cardinal admitted he plotted the murders even before there was a court hearing to determine who should get custody of the boys.

The hearing wasn’t finished and had been adjourned for several months, so the boys remained living with their mother, Andrea Badger.

“After carefully considering all of the evidence, I find that their deaths were not caused by flaws in the system,” Bodnarek said in the public inquiry report released Thursday.

“I find that Children’s Services made reasonable professional judgment calls throughout their involvement with Caleb and Gabriel. These judgment calls were made with ... information including opinions from mental-health professionals.”

The judge’s report focuses on a one-year legal battle that started in January 2010 between Cardinal and Badger. The mother had become concerned that the two boys and her older daughter from a previous relationship were in danger due to Cardinal’s mental health.

Children’s Services first became involved with Caleb and Gabriel in May 2009. The children were placed in Badger’s care the following March and Cardinal was granted access with supervision.

By the end of that summer, Cardinal was allowed to spend time with his sons on unsupervised weekend visits subject to random checks by a family reunification worker.

Bodnarek said Cardinal’s behaviour began to worsen in the fall. He was caught obtaining prescription drugs fraudulently, was banned from a doctor’s office for seeking drugs and charged with shoplifting.

The judge outlined Cardinal’s mental-health issues and his dealings with two psychologists.

“Mr. Cardinal devised and followed through on his plan to kill his boys. He told no one and fooled everyone,” Bodnarek concluded.