Crown to appeal Meredith Borowiec infanticide conviction
Meghan Grant | CBC News | Posted: December 30, 2013 7:30 PM | Last Updated: December 30, 2013
Prosecutor's office will argue Calgary mother should go on trial again for murder in newborn deaths
The Calgary Crown prosecutor's office is hoping to get another chance to try Meredith Borowiec for murder.
The 32-year-old killed two of her newborn babies by leaving them in a dumpster in 2008 and 2009.
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Meredith Borowiec was charged with second-degree murder after she admitted to killing the two infants.
But last month she was found guilty of the lesser charge of infanticide — a crime that comes with a maximum of five years in prison.
"The prosecuting authorities in this province are very, very reluctant to accept that infanticide may be a proper verdict," said Chris Levy, a lawyer and University of Calgary professor.
"They are pushing very, very hard to get murder convictions."
Court of Queen's Bench Justice Peter McIntyre decided she was suffering from a mental disturbance at the time of the crime, so a murder conviction wasn't warranted.
In its appeal, the Crown is arguing the trial judge erred in applying the law of infanticide and did not provide adequate reasons for his judgment.
Borowiec was originally charged with attempted murder after a baby was found alive in a dumpster in 2010.
During a police interview, she confessed to doing the same with two other infants, who did not survive. Their bodies were never found.
She gave birth to a fourth baby while in police custody in July of 2012.
Both he and Borowiec have denied he was aware of any of the pregnancies.
She awaits trial on the attempted murder charge while a sentencing hearing on the infanticide convictions is set for Jan. 8.
Meanwhile, the appeals branch of the Crown's office is preparing its argument that a new trial should be ordered.