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Opposition critics demand inquest into death of Katelynn Sampson, 7 |
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Written by THE CANADIAN PRESS
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Wednesday, 06 August 2008 |
Katelynn Sampson is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/The Toronto Star - HO
TORONTO - Ontario's opposition parties joined the province's child advocate Wednesday in demanding an inquest into the death of a seven-year-old Toronto girl who was found dead in her caregiver's apartment over the weekend.
So severe were the injuries suffered by Katelynn Sampson that autopsy results, originally expected Tuesday, won't be available for several more days, police have said.
Toronto police Det.-Sgt. Steve Ryan has described the sight of the little girl's body as the worst thing he has seen in 20 years of policing.
The case makes it clear Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act, which governs how custody is determined in at-risk situations, is in need of an overhaul, opposition New Democrats and Conservatives both complained Wednesday.
"When a child can simply be handed from one legal guardian to another with little or no scrutiny of the new guardian's background, there is a problem here," said Andrea Horwath, the NDP's children and youth services critic.
"Children aren't commodities."
Irwin Elman, Ontario's advocate for children and youth, called Tuesday for an inquest into Sampson's death, saying the laws that are supposed to protect kids "all failed" the little girl.
"Child Welfare has what's thought to be a pretty strict screening process," Elman said. "Any time a child dies under these circumstances, we as a community, as a society, have something to learn."
The Progressive Conservatives said Wednesday an inquest is needed, but would likely have to wait until after all criminal proceedings are completed. Leader John Tory, however, said there's still plenty the province could be doing.
"There's no reason whatsoever why (Premier Dalton) McGuinty's government couldn't proceed to learn as much as they can about how this little girl died, because she fell between the cracks of a system that clearly has holes in it," Tory said in an interview from North Bay, Ont.
"They should get on with that investigation right now - today. Not three hours, not three weeks or three years from today."
Pamela States, an aunt who identified the third-grader's body for police, said she noticed a litany of serious visible injuries.
"She had, like, the two black eyes, she had a bruise on her nose, scratches on to her face," States told Toronto television station CP24.
"She had a big bump here, and a big one back there ... I mean, you wouldn't do that to a dog."
Police said Katelynn slept on a bedroom floor of her caregiver's home and showed signs of having been assaulted on an ongoing basis.
Her mother, Bernice Sampson, surrendered custody of the little girl last January to Donna Irving, who remains in custody on a charge of second-degree murder.
On Wednesday, police arrested Irving's boyfriend, 46-year-old Warren Johnson, who was also wanted for second-degree murder.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 06 August 2008 )
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