Recovering addict who waited eight hours to call 911 for fatally drug-poisoned toddler sentenced to 33 months behind bars

A Winnipeg woman who waited nearly eight hours to call 911 after her toddler daughter ingested a fatal overdose of fentanyl has been sentenced to 33 months in custody.

“The loss of any child of any age is a tragedy, especially when it’s one’s own child,” provincial court Judge Dale Harvey said at a sentencing hearing Tuesday for 39-year-old Sabrina Faye Boulette. “Worse yet is being responsible for that loss.”

Boulette pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the March 23, 2023, death of her 23-month-old daughter Hanna Boulette at her Stella Avenue duplex.

Sitting in the prisoner’s box, Boulette’s face twisted into a tearful grimace as Harvey reviewed the circumstances of Hanna’s death.

Boulette, a recovering addict, and her partner and co-accused Garry Bruce, an active fentanyl user, were aware as early as 10 a.m. that the child was in distress and may have ingested fentanyl, but did not call 911 until 5:45 p.m. Both denied the presence of drugs in the home when they were questioned by paramedics.

When questioned by police, the couple claimed they had been out that day looking at apartments and left Hanna at home in the care of a babysitter. The couple said they returned to find the babysitter gone and their daughter in a groggy state. Later, when the child’s breathing slowed, they called 911.

The story quickly fell apart, as police found no evidence the babysitter existed. Police pictures showed used syringes and drug paraphernalia around the home, including in the child’s bedroom, garbage and dog feces on the floors and piles of debris climbing the walls.

Boulette provided a second statement, telling police she awoke to Hanna crying around 8 a.m. She said she sat with Hanna in a living room chair where they both fell asleep until about 10 a.m. when Boulette roused the groggy child,

Boulette “didn’t think anything of it until she saw two of (Bruce’s) needles and drugs on the table,” Crown attorney Jocelyne Ritchot told court at a December sentencing hearing.

Boulette slapped Bruce on the head, angry that he had left drugs out in the open, then made a sandwich and a bottle of sugar water for Hanna.

“She indicated she was very scared, knew something was wrong but she didn’t want to call 911 because she was concerned the child would be apprehended,” Ritchot said.

A toxicology report revealed Hanna had ingested nearly 10 times the amount of fentanyl fatal to a child.

“I have so much guilt,” Boulette wrote in a letter previously provided to court. “As a mother, I failed tremendously… I will not try to blame anyone but myself.”

Harvey said the remorse expressed in the letter appeared genuine and “heartfelt.”

The letter “reflects the thoughts and emotions we would hope would be felt by someone who has pleaded guilty to such a horrific crime and accepts her responsibility,” Harvey said. “In it, she appears to recognize her failings in the death of her daughter and how and why she must change when she is released…. It would seem there is hope for her future.”

A pre-sentence report provided to court described an upbringing marked by violence, substance and sexual abuse and periods in foster care. Court heard Boulette was seriously assaulted by other inmates while in custody and had to be placed in segregation but continued to participate in all counselling programs made available to her.

The Crown had recommended Boulette be sentenced to four years in prison.

Bruce pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced in January to just under 35 months time served.

Harvey said the four-year sentence recommended by the Crown was reasonable, but he could not justify sentencing Boulette to a longer term in custody than Bruce.

“At the time, (Boulette) was not an active drug user,” Harvey said. “She was trying to kick her habit and doing the best she could. Garry Bruce was an active user and all drugs, syringes and other paraphernalia found in the suite and accessible to Hanna were his… Garry Bruce in my view must bear greater responsibility for his behaviour.”

Boulette received credit for time served, reducing her remaining sentence to approximately 5 ½ months.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca