Mother serving life sentence for murdering 8-year-old daughter dies in B.C. prison
WARNING: This story contains details of murder and attempted suicide.
A woman serving a life sentence for killing her eight-year-old daughter has died in custody at the Fraser Valley Institution in Abbotsford, B.C.
Lisa Batstone, 50, died on Jan. 1, according to a news release from the Correctional Service Canada (CSC). The cause of death has not been released.
Batstone was found guilty of second-degree murder four years ago for the 2014 suffocation death of daughter Teagan Batstone and sentenced to life with no parole eligibility for 15 years. The decision was upheld on appeal.
CSC said an internal investigation has been launched into Batstone's death, as is the policy with all in-custody deaths. The Abbotsford Police Department and B.C. Coroners Service have also been notified.
In a statement sent to CBC, Teagan's father Gabe Batstone said news of his former wife's death was "no cause for mourning."
"Her death does not erase the pain and loss of Teagan, whose absence is felt every day. Nothing can bring our precious daughter back, and this unalterable truth weighs heavily on our hearts," he wrote.
Eric Gottardi, Lisa Batstone's lawyer at trial and appeal said in an email to CBC that her death was another terrible tragedy.
"The criminal justice system is not the place for single mothers struggling with mental health issues, no matter the circumstances," said Gottardi.
"Furthermore, Lisa should have been protected and safe from all forms of harm while in custody, even self-harm."
High-profile trial
During a high-profile trial the court heard that Lisa Batstone had written a four-page letter at the time of killing explaining what she had done and why, specifically blaming the girl's father.
At sentencing, Supreme Court Justice Catherine Murray said the court needed to send a strong message to warring parents who might use their children as weapons.
Teagan Batstone was found dead on Dec. 10, 2014. (submitted by Gabe Batstone)
"The breach of trust could not be more abhorrent," Murray said. "Children are not to be used as pawns in matrimonial or personal disputes."
Batstone's lawyers claimed she had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and was suffering from anxiety at the time of the murder. But Murray said those factors didn't take away from her moral culpability in planning and committing the most extreme breach of trust imaginable for a parent.
The court heard that Batstone, who was 41 at the time of the murder, held a heavy plastic bag over Teagan's nose and mouth for four to five minutes at their home in Surrey, B.C. Batstone then tried to kill herself using two smaller plastic bags, but couldn't go through with it.
She threw out the bags, including the one she had used to smother Teagan, placing a note on top that read, "I'm so sorry.''
Later that morning, Batstone loaded Teagan's body into the trunk of her car, the ruling says, as she planned to drop her dog at her dog sitter's before attempting suicide again. But the car got stuck in a ditch, prompting Batstone to go to a nearby Surrey, B.C., home seeking help.
A resident called 911 and first responders arrived to find Batstone in the trunk, cradling Teagan's body and sobbing, with a superficial wound to her own neck. A large kitchen knife was found in the car.
Batstone admitted to suffocating her daughter and the sole issue in the murder trial was whether the Crown proved beyond a reasonable doubt that she had intended to cause Teagan's death.
The Appeal Court ruling says that before killing Teagan, Batstone had been "a loving and devoted mother,'' with no criminal record or history of violence.
The appeal ruling says that after the murder on Dec. 10, 2014, Batstone left a note accusing her ex-husband of mental and emotional abuse, saying she feared that if Teagan lived "her dad would then betray her too.''
She had also previously attempted suicide the spring of 2012.
Batstone's claims against her ex-husband have not been substantiated.
