Warning: This article contains details that may be disturbing to readers
A South Surrey mother whose bid to overturn her murder conviction in connection with the smothering death of her young daughter failed is back in court today (May 10) to appeal her sentence.
The proceedings for Lisa Batstone are scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. in the B.C. Court of Appeal in Vancouver.
In March 2019, Batstone was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of eight-year-old Teagan Batstone, whose body was found in the back of a car in a cul-de-sac off Crescent Road on Dec. 10, 2014.
During trial, the court heard how Batstone had smothered Teagan with a plastic bag while she slept, and that she had tried unsuccessfully to suffocate herself after.
READ MORE: Mother’s choice to kill daughter a breach of trust that ‘could not be more abhorrent’
READ MORE: South Surrey mother’s murder conviction upheld
Justice Catherine Murray found Batstone’s choice to kill her daughter was a breach of trust that “could not be more abhorrent.”
Batstone’s conviction came with an automatic life sentence. In September 2019, she learned it would be 15 years before she could apply for parole.
Last fall, appeal-court judges upheld Batstone’s conviction, finding the trial judge did not err in concluding that the mother had intended to cause Teagan’s death.
The organization Teagan’s Voice was founded following the youngster’s killing to rally “for much-needed change in the systems that are to designed to safeguard Canada’s most valuable resource – our children.”
A post Monday (May 9) to the Teagan’s Voice Facebook page described the appeal hearing as part of a process “that never ends.”
“That sentence seems light given the 70+ years she stole from Teagan,” it continues. “If successful in having that reduced to 10 years without parole (Batstone) could apply in less than 2 years!
“That from a person who ‘held the bag over (Teagan’s) mouth and nose, with enough pressure to block the airways, for about 4 to 5 minutes. Without interruption. Until she was certain that she was dead.’”
More to come…
tholmes@peacearchnews.com
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