‘I failed tremendously,’ mom says of daughter’s death by fentanyl

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This article was published 12/12/2025 (298 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg woman who waited nearly eight hours to call 911 after her toddler ingested a fatal overdose of fentanyl said she feared the girl would be seized by child welfare authorities.

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

Boulette, 39, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the March 23, 2023, death of her 23-month-old daughter Hanna Boulette at her Stella Avenue duplex.

The basis of the manslaughter charge is that Boulette failed to provide a safe living environment for her daughter and failed to seek medical attention when she was in distress, knowing there were drugs in the home, said Crown attorney Jocelyne Ritchot, who recommended provincial court Judge Dale Harvey sentence her to four years in prison.

Boulette’s partner at the time, the girl’s father, is also charged in the child’s death, and remains before the court.

Court heard Boulette, a recovering addict, and her co-accused, 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, Ritchot said. 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, Ritchot said.

Police could find 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.

“This was an environment ripe for disaster” and “unfit for a child,” Ritchot said.

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 “still very groggy” child, Ritchot said.

“She didn’t think anything of it until she saw two of (the co-accused’s) needles and drugs on the table,” Ritchot said.

Boulette slapped the man 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.

The couple “argued about what to do, eventually agreed to call 911 and came up with a story,” she said.

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

Defence lawyer Pam Smith recommended Boulette be sentenced to the equivalent of two years’ time already served, arguing it would allow her to undergo counselling not available to her in custody.

Boulette, who is Indigenous, had an upbringing marked by neglect and violence and has a history of bad relationships with men who abused her, Smith said.

Boulette “wasn’t equipped to be a model parent” to Hanna, but “tried her best to keep her safe,” Smith said.

“She knows she’s responsible… She obviously never intended this to happen. She has to live with this for the rest of her life.”

Boulette will be sentenced at a later date.

Garry Daniel Adrian Bruce, 40, is set to stand trial for manslaughter in January.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca