Quebec City mother sentenced to life in prison for toddler’s death after guilty plea

Second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence. The Crown and Gagnon’s defence lawyers issued a joint recommendation that Gagnon not be eligible for parole for 14 years.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Carl Thibault accepted that recommendation.

Gagnon appeared sombre and nodded along as Thibault explained that her criminal record, age, living situation and mental health were all factors in her sentencing.

Rosalie Gagnon’s body was found in a garbage bin behind a suburban home on April 18, 2018.

Disturbing evidence

Six days prior to the murder, Gagnon had been thrown out of a shelter for women and children and went to live with a friend in a Quebec City apartment with her daughter, according to an agreed statement of facts.

The friend, Philippe Ménard, said he left her alone in the apartment on April 17 to visit friends. Gagnon stayed home because she couldn’t find a babysitter, according to the court document. She drank a few beers and smoked cannabis that evening, and was asleep on the couch when Ménard left.

He later received a text message from Gagnon, telling him Rosalie was being difficult. During the night, Gagnon told him she had brought her daughter to her mother and asked Ménard to come home.

Gagnon had stabbed Rosalie 32 times before carrying her body outside in a stroller, the agreed statement said.

After getting stuck in the snow, Gagnon left the body in a green garbage bin that she pushed several blocks further, before returning to the apartment to clean up.

Ménard said he didn’t notice anything abnormal when he returned.

The empty stroller was discovered the next morning by a citizen who alerted police.

Mental health problems

No members of Gagnon’s family were present during Wednesday’s hearing.

Thibault told Gagnon that by taking the life of her own child, she had committed an irreparable crime. He added that he hoped her sentence would allow her to “heal her scars.”

Gagnon spent most of her childhood in foster homes and was physically and psychologically abused by a member of her family, court had heard. Her mother also suffered from mental health problems.