A hearing to determine how long a South Surrey mother who killed her daughter should remain ineligible for parole is to get underway this morning in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.
Lisa Batstone was found guilty in March of second-degree murder in connection with the December 2014 death of eight-year-old Teagan.
READ MORE: South Surrey mother guilty of second-degree murder in death of daughter
The conviction comes with an automatic life sentence.
In making the ruling, Justice Catherine Murray – noting the only issue for her to rule on was whether Batstone “had the requisite intent for second-degree murder” – found “the killing was deliberate.”
“The accused’s actions were purposeful and goal-driven,” Murray said.
Batstone was charged after Teagan’s body was found in the trunk of a car in a cul-de-sac off Crescent Road on Dec. 10, 2014.
During trial, prosecutors pointed to the fact that Batstone never called 911, and that she left notes that read “I’m so sorry,” as well as a four-page letter with phrases that included, “I couldn’t imagine leaving here and leaving her to him,” as among evidence that made it clear Batstone had intended to kill Teagan.
Defence counsel had argued it was “impossible to know… what truly was in Batstone’s mind” in the moments before she smothered her daughter.
In her reasons for judgment, Murray noted that Batstone “did nothing to try to save” Teagan.
According to the Correctional Service of Canada, offenders serving life sentences for second-degree murder are eligible to apply for parole after serving between 10 and 25 years, as determined by the court.
