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Mother found guilty in death of infant son

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 04/23/2009 4:05 PM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Michelle Camire leaves the Woodsworth building with her legal counsel after a day in court at the Manitoba Law Courts in 2007. (JOE BRYKSA/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

WINNIPEG - A jury found Michelle Camire guilty of manslaughter this afternoon in the death of one of her infant triplets in October 2004.

It took the seven-man, five-woman jury just three hours to determine the fate of Camire, a daunting challenge considering two prior cases in 2007 and 2008 ended in mistrials when jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

Camire, 27, faces life in prison, although sentencing will happen at a later date.

Manitoba justice officials decided to pursue a third trial against Camire, who has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter for the October 2004 death of her three-month-old son, Michael Helgason.

Camire, 27, claimed the boy's death was a tragic accident, not a criminal act. Defence lawyer Rod Brecht said his client acted like any other frustrated, sleep-deprived parent when she threw Michael into his crib. He urged jurors to put themselves in the shoes of his client and find her not guilty.

"Unless you've been in a similar circumstance ... it may be difficult to appreciate what she was feeling," Brecht said during closing arguments yesterday. "Throwing Michael into a padded bassinet was never meant to be an assault on him. Many loving and caring parents may throw their children into a crib."

Camire knows she was too rough with her son and must live with regrets, he said. But convicting her would cause "our justice system to be swamped with otherwise loving and caring parents" who make similar mistakes.

"There are circumstances where a frustrated parent may handle their child in a rough manner without meaning to assault them," he said. Brecht told jurors the legal standard is "not perfection," but what any other reasonable person might do in a similar circumstance.

Crown attorney Brian Bell summed up his case in minutes, saying there should be no doubt Camire is guilty. He told jurors the best evidence came directly from the accused in her frantic 911 call after finding her son wasn't breathing.

"My three-month-old baby, I've killed him. I was tired and frustrated earlier, and I slammed him down when I put him down... Oh my God, what has mommy done. I'm going to go to jail, aren't I?" she said.

The operator began instructing Camire on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Camire wept and repeatedly asking how could she do such a thing to her baby.

"He's gone, he's gone, I know he's gone," she said. When a Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service operator came on the line and asked the woman what happened, Camire responded: "My baby was crying earlier today. I got mad and I got frustrated. I slammed him down when I put him down and now he's dead."

Camire also told police she knew what she did "was wrong" but couldn't stop herself in time.

"Do (Camire's) words sound to you like an accident? No, they do not," Bell told jurors in his closing argument.

Michael was pronounced dead after he was rushed to hospital from the family's Rothesay Street townhouse. He suffered a fractured skull and severe brain injury. Doctors concluded there was a "considerable" amount of force used to cause the fatal injury which was comparable to a car crash.

"Ask yourself if using force comparable to a car crash on a three-month old baby is considered an assault," Bell said.

Camire was receiving Child and Family Services respite help in her home for up to 57 hours a week. Staff was not present at the time of the incident. Camire was also raising a 17-month-old girl.

CFS first became involved with Camire and her family in June 2004 after a social worker at the St. Boniface General Hospital notified them about the impending birth of triplets. CFS worked with the Family Centre of Winnipeg to schedule in-home visits that would occur six days of the week.

www.mikeoncrime.com

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