Bail for senior OK’d

Woman’s lawyer suggests police mistreated client

The lawyer for a Calgary senior charged in the death of her disabled adult daughter suggested Thursday the woman was mistreated by police.

“If the reports that I get are to be believed I’m extremely dismayed at police conduct here,” prominent defence counsel Andre Ouellette said, of the handling of Patricia Couture in custody.

“This lady tells me she was ... browbeaten by a younger detective, I guess testosterone, a badge and a gun makes you forget that you too may have a mother.

“I’m extremely dismayed, if that’s correct there’s an officer that browbeats a woman, who’s 68, who’s just lost her daughter and tells her she’s charged with murder,” the lawyer said.

“So, if that’s correct it’s extremely disheartening.”

But Calgary Police Service spokeswoman Emma Poole denied the woman was mistreated.

“We were very cognizant of her age,” Poole said.

She said being interviewed by a police officer can be daunting, especially for someone who has never been involved with the law.

“For a lot of people it’s very intimidating to be in this circumstance,” Poole said.

But she said the officer who interviewed Couture was a veteran of 20 years, was videotaped and live monitored, and was not even armed during the interview.

“We get that it would be intimidating for someone who had never had an encounter with the police.”

Couture has been charged with the lesser offence of failing to provide the necessaries of life for her daughter.

Ouellette made the comments after a brief provincial court appearance by Couture before Judge Cheryl Van de Veen.

Ouellette said he and the Crown prosecutor’s office had reached a deal for his client’s consent release.

“She’s 68 years old, she has no criminal record,” Ouellette told Van de Veen.

Crown prosecutor Chanel Avarello said Couture could be freed on a $3,000, no cash bail with a condition she report to probation in person within two business days and reside at her Woodbine home in southwest Calgary. Couture is also prohibited from possessing any weapons.

The frail-looking, petite woman spoke only briefly in court to say she understood the conditions of her release.Couture was charged Wednesday with failing to provide the necessaries of life for her 38- year-old daughter, Melissa, who was found dead in their home on Tuesday.

Police said they were called by the mother to the home around 3 a.m.

Officers found the daughter unresponsive and declared her dead.

Outside court Ouellette said the past few days have been extremely trying on his client.

He said it was important she be released as soon as possible. “It was crucial,” Ouellette said. “This is a woman who’s lost a daughter that was facing a criminal charge after being in the city for 68 years without any record,” he said.

Couture’s next court appearance is May 26.