Father Of Frozen Girls Pleads Guilty To Charge
Monday, November 03, 2008 at 13:36
The father of two girls found frozen in a snowy field last winter sat sobbing in his chair in a Saskatchewan courtroom today after pleading guilty to criminal negligence causing death.
24-year-old Christopher Pauchay of the Yellow Quill First Nation stood and nodded “yes” to the plea at what was to be the start of his trial in a makeshift courtroom in nearby Rose Valley.
His lawyer, Ron Piche, says he will ask the judge to allow an Aboriginal sentencing circle to decide his client’s fate.
The application is to be heard December 5th in Rose Valley.
The Crown has indicated it will not agree to such an arrangement, and will argue for jail time in a federal penitentiary.
Three-year-old Kaydance Pauchay and her one-year-old sister, Santana, became separated from their father after the three left their home on the reserve in the early morning of January 29th.
The temperature would have felt like -50 degrees Celsius because of the wind.
The girls were found wearing only diapers and T-shirts.
Piche says his client was a doting father, feels tremendous guilt, and didn’t want to go through the pain of a trial.
(courtesy of The Canadian Press)