Randal Dooley's stepmom gets 18 years without parole

The "evil stepmother" of little Randal Dooley must serve 18 years in prison before she can apply for parole. The boy's father will be eligible for parole in 13 years, Superior Court Justice Eugene Ewaschuk decided Friday.

• FROM APRIL 19, 2002: Parents guilty of murder in Randal Dooley's death

Last month, Marcia and Tony Dooley were found guilty of second-degree murder in one of the most horrific child abuse cases in Canadian history. Randal was seven years old when he died about 2 1/2 years ago of a brain injury likely caused by repeated shaking.

Ewaschuk called Marcia Dooley "Randal Dooley's cruel and evil stepmother." The judge made her eligible for parole five years after Randal's father. Ewaschuk said Marcia Dooley was the person who inflicted most of the beatings and was the one who murdered him.

Ewaschuk called Tony Dooley a coward, saying the father chose deliberately to do nothing to prevent his son's death.

• FROM APRIL 19 2002: Increase child protection measures: child advocates

Crown attorney Rita Zaied said she was satisfied with the ruling. The night of Randal's death, Marcia Dooley plunged her unconscious stepson into a cold bath, trying to revive him, Zaied said.

"Tony Dooley said, 'Pay him no mind. Randal just wants attention,' and turned out the bathroom light and walked away. He turned out the light on his son's life," Zaied told the court.

biological mother still haunted by murder

Raquel Burth, the boy's biological mother, said in a statement that she is still haunted by Randal's murder and the details of how he was treated.

At one point during the trial, the court was told how Marcia Dooley, angry with Randal's inability to keep food down, forced the boy to eat his own vomit.

"Every time I try to eat, I think of the vomit he was forced to eat," Burth said. "He died worse than a dog being hit by a vehicle."

In 1998, Burth tried to give Randal a better life by sending him from Jamaica to Canada to live with his father and stepmother.

A few months later, Randal was murdered. His emaciated body was covered with scars and bruises. He had 13 broken ribs, a lacerated liver and a tooth in his stomach.

The Dooleys have 30 days to launch an appeal. Ontario's chief coroner said a decision will be made in a month on whether to hold an inquest into Randal's death.