Calgary mom who killed baby, strangled son awaits sentence

Sentencing arguments are underway today for the Calgary mother who smothered her infant son in 2004 and tried to kill her five-year-old son in 2010.

The Crown argued Stacey Joy Bourdeaux should be sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Bourdeaux pleaded guilty in August to manslaughter in the death of her son Sean Fewer in 2004 and the attempted murder of her then five-year-old son in 2010.

Bourdeaux also pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessities of life for her older son.

When Bourdeaux's infant was found in his crib not breathing in December 2004, it was believed he had died of natural causes.

But the case was reassessed after Bourdeaux brought her five-year-old to the Alberta Children's Hospital in May 2010. He was shaking, incontinent and unable to stand, symptoms police said were consistent with some form of trauma.

Based on that incident, police began investigating the death of Bourdeaux's baby. She was charged with second-degree murder, but the charge was later reduced to manslaughter. She was also charged with choking with intent and failing to provide the necessities of life.

The Crown is asking for six years for the manslaughter charge, 11 years for attempted murder and one year for failing to provide the necessities of life. The sentences should be served consecutively, the Crown recommended.

In the death of her baby, the Crown argues there is no evidence Bourdeaux suffered from depression or a mental disorder at the time of that crime in 2004.

In 2010, doctors who were working with Bourdeaux said she was depressed but never lost touch with reality and was aware of what she was doing when she choked her son.

The defence is arguing Bourdeaux should receive a sentence of eight to 10 years.

Diary confessions

Bourdeaux confessed to the 2004 crime in a journal entry addressed to her late common-law husband. The journal was seized as evidence last year.

In it, Bourdeaux she said she put a pillow over the infant's face because he wouldn't stop crying.

There would have been nothing to draw police to the initial investigation had the second assault not happened, officials said in 2010.

In a separate journal entry Bourdeaux said she fought with her five-year-old son for several hours.

"He's a real fighter," she wrote.

She waited four days after assaulting the boy before taking him to hospital, court heard.

The child suffered brain damage. He can no longer walk or speak and requires constant care.