Teen gets three years for manslaughter
Decision to delay sentence for dental care sparked one of several outbursts in court
Asentencing hearing for a babysitter who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2014 death of 30-month-old Ja’zara Garrison-Downey dissolved into a shouting match Wednesday, forcing the judge to clear the court.
“She’s going to kill more babies,” shouted a family member of the toddler at supporters of the accused, a young woman who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Jus- tice Act (YCJA) because she was 17 when the little girl died.
After the screaming and swearing subsided, Superior Court Justice John McMahon resumed giving his reasons for sentencing the young woman to the maximum three years under the YCJA. The woman, who has been under restrictive bail conditions for three and a half years, will serve two years in a provincial facility and one year under community supervision.
She will be taken into custody in mid-March after the judge agreed to allow her to receive dental care, a decision that triggered one of several courtroom outbursts.
Court heard Ja’zara was dropped off at the teen’s downtown Toronto apartment a few days before Christmas in 2013, where she was staying with her own 6-month-old infant, a nephew and boyfriend.
Over the course of a few days, the child suffered “horrific and inhumane” trauma, yet the teen did nothing about it, said Superior Court Justice John McMahon.
There’s no clear evidence as to who inflicted the injuries, though a bite mark on her arm was forensically linked to the babysitter.
Altogether, she suffered 21 injuries possibly caused by a belt, whip, rope and spanking. The babysitter acknowledged that she was aware of the child’s injuries, but did nothing to treat them except to apply Polysporin to some wounds.
Ja’zara’s cause of death was ketoacidosis, which can be caused by stress and starvation.
The babysitter failed in her legal responsibility as Ja’zara’s guardian to care for the child, the judge said.
She pleaded guilty to manslaughter last fall on the eve of a trial for second-degree murder.
On Jan. 3, 2014, the babysitter called her mother to say Ja’zara wasn’t breathing.
Her mother instructed her to call police to the apartment near Sherbourne St. and Wellesley St. E.
Toronto police pronounced Ja’zara dead at the apartment.
The babysitter attributed the injuries to a number of scenarios, including a Christmas tree falling on top of her.
Court heard Wednesday the babysitter had a challenging upbringing, with a substance-abusing mother and abusive boyfriend.