A mother from Quebec who had herself denounced to relatives for having shaken her son of only a few months in addition to having tried to drown him by putting his head under water, pleaded guilty to done on the toddler.
In April 2021, the mother of a boy just over a year old called her sister in a panic, telling her she was “on the verge of making a blunder” and asking her to pick up her child. Once there, the mother gave her son to her sister, telling her that it was the last time she would speak to her boy.
The 33-year-old woman said at the time that she had dark thoughts and that she wanted to physically attack her son. The accused then verbalized his sister and his brother-in-law also on the spot having tried to drown his toddler a few times in recent months by putting his head under water for four and five seconds.
She also confessed to having shaken her son on certain occasions since his birth and was now asking his relatives to call the police to be arrested. This is the woman’s first criminal history.
No sequel
During the investigation, a pediatrician was consulted to inquire about the state of health of the victim. Although a delay was suspected in the child, the latter showed no sequelae following his mother’s acts of violence. A single assault charge has therefore been filed against the mother who cannot be named to protect the victim.
The accused explained these gestures by the fact that she “had an overflow”. “Yes, I have regrets, but we can’t erase what happened, we can do better,” said the emotional woman.
Since the gestures, the little boy has been entrusted to his father. “You called for help in time,” Judge Marie-Claude Gilbert submitted as she accepted the guilty plea. “I called for help before committing the irreparable,” added the accused.
A pre-sentence report was requested before the woman returned to court for sentencing.