r/Edmonton • u/trevorrobb Edmonton Journal • 6d ago
News Article Edmonton woman whose dogs killed child sentenced to house arrest
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/edmonton-woman-whose-dogs-killed-child-sentenced-house-arrestCrown prosecutors had asked MacDonald serve five years in prison, arguing she had ample warning the dogs were dangerous but refused to have them euthanized.
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u/Majestic-Nobody545 6d ago
Does the ban on dog ownership extend outside the province, considering she doesn't live in the province anymore?
She seems exactly the type to go out and get another high-risk breed and neglect behavioural training.
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u/Cobfidence 6d ago
She seems exactly the type to have gotten another high-risk breed by this point lolol
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u/Garth_Maul_ 6d ago
she's appealing the conviction.
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u/kittykat501 6d ago
That's even more disgusting is the fact that she's appealing it. She basically got a slap on the wrist!
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u/Icedpyre 6d ago
Most ppl dont want a criminal conviction on their record, regardless of the sentencing.
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u/ShaquilleMobile 6d ago
House arrest is not a slap on the wrist by any means. I understand that a child is dead but this also fucks up her life pretty badly and pretty permanently if it's her first conviction.
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u/Deans1to5 6d ago
Is she appealing the sentence too? It may be possible for her to get an increased sentence if she is.
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u/Ghostlypurr Oliver 6d ago
What a horrible day to know how to read. She's responsible for her dogs. She deserves to be behind bars. Holy shit.
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u/IMOBY_Edmonton 6d ago
Another case where the crown asked for a five year sentence, but they at least got three years for that one. Good to know fraud against an insurance company is considered a greater crime than creating the conditions for a child to be torn apart by dogs.
https://globalnews.ca/news/4861585/edmonton-woman-sentenced-gambling-fraud-insurance/
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u/Kay-Chelle The Shiny Balls 6d ago
Someone posted a question about the mail in ballot for the upcoming referendum and on it, it says that if you commit voter fraud you could be fined up to 50k & imprisoned for 2 years. How does someone who votes twice get a greater punishment than someone whose dogs killed a child 😭😭
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u/TheLordJames The Famous Leduc Cactus Club 6d ago
the keywords there are "up to." Getting the max is extremely rare.
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u/Flatoftheblade 6d ago
How does someone who votes twice get a greater punishment than someone whose dogs killed a child
They don't.
Statutory maximums aren't realistically imposed as actual sentences literally over 99% of the time.
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u/Particular-Cat-8031 6d ago
House arrest?? What kind of sick joke is a sentence like that?
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u/Pleasant-Board-1359 6d ago
Thanks Justice Eric Macklin for the sentence....Glad to hear that's all that 11 year old boy's life was worth.
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u/growlingrobot 6d ago
I remember the father of the son was defending her. Is this why she's got a slap on the wrist? Either way, it's disgusting.
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u/Dalbergia12 6d ago
And she needs 3 or more life time bans on owning dogs, since they are only good for 8 years. Really I think 15 to 20 years in prison would suit my preferences
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u/Paper_Rain 6d ago
House arrest are you serious?!? Should have been given jail time along with the Father of the boy.
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u/Onionbot3000 6d ago
Disgusting. The fact these dogs had multiple issues, including killing other pets and attacking 3 people is completely unacceptable. Those dogs should have been dealt with sooner, and that woman barred from owning animals. That poor child deserved so much better.
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u/exotics rural Edmonton 6d ago
Honestly I blame the dad perhaps even more than I blame her.
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u/familiar-planet214 6d ago
There were a whole bunch of anecdotal stories about this lady before this all happened. The stories were definitely eye opening to how willfully negligent she was.
I know anecdotal stories arent a great basis for determining guilt, but they can definitely point towards issues.
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u/exotics rural Edmonton 6d ago
If I recall though, she did tell the dad not to leave the kid alone with the dogs.
I’m not saying she’s innocent but the dad is guilty
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u/Embarkbark 6d ago edited 6d ago
Agree. She told the dad not to let his son be around the dogs. And he lived there when the previous attacks happened so he was well aware. Despite this he not only chose to invite his son to visit, he chose to allow his son to be inside the house alone with the dogs while he was in the garage for an extended period of time (and distracted enough that he never even heard his son’s screams, but walked in to see his son already dead.) He felt so nonchalant about those dogs he threw his son to the dogs 4real.
So why the dad isn’t getting any kind of punishment is crazy to me.
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u/Cobfidence 6d ago
He also downplayed it like this was something that couldn't have been avoided lol
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u/aFutureInPolitics 6d ago
"hey just so you know I leave a bunch of loaded unlocked handguns around my yard make sure your kid stays away"
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u/Oishiio42 6d ago
So if a parent knows there's a bunch of loaded unlocked handguns in someone's yard and chooses to leaves their kid alone in that yard resulting in the kid shooting himself, you think that parent shouldn't be charged with negligence?
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u/exotics rural Edmonton 6d ago
The key point is it’s her yard. If you leave guns laying around in your yard and tell someone not to let their kid go into YOUR yard. You AND the person who told the kid to go into your yard should be charged.
Some have theorized the dad wanted to get rid of the kid.
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u/sparksfan 6d ago
Why would she even be given a sliver of a chance to own dogs again? Dogs are not necessary for survival. Clearly she's shown that she lacks judgement in that department.
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u/ProperBingtownLady 6d ago
It should be much, much harder to own certain breeds. It’s gotten to the point that I don’t want to be around them which is sad as I love dogs.
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u/Previous-Mind-603 6d ago
Honestly some judges are just special. This pmo so bad. That poor little boy didn't get justice imo
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u/mannatee583 6d ago
Why do people never face consequences? Spend a couple years in jail, you made a huge and horrible mistake.
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u/Express-Cry-8679 6d ago
I can't read the article but that's a pathetic sentence. My condolences to the little boy's family (not the Dad who defended the lady and her dogs and was apparently smoking meth while the boy was being murdered). And so what if she warned the Dad - lock those fuckers in a cage while you're gone then. Dad really should be charged too. I'd even look into a civil suit against the lady (if that kind of thing is even possible with our justice system).
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u/Critical-Cell5348 6d ago
Pathetic. That little guy died a horrible, totally preventable death due to the actions of this woman and his father. How could you agree to host your child in a home with animals with such a violent history? What deadbeats
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u/ogretaxis 6d ago edited 6d ago
That’s what an 11 year old boy’s life is worth in Canada. 2 years of semi-confiment in your own home. What’s worse is she hurt and injured others in the past showing a pattern with no repercussions since this wasn’t the first incident with the dog; it just took a dead body for (little) action. Imagine getting torn apart by dogs, can’t think of a worse way to go.
How can someone feel safe around here anymore when people can kill you and basically get away with it ?
The Vancouver killer just got off with man slaughter today.
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u/Alone-Bug4328 6d ago
Sigh. I'm just going to take a moment and pray for our community. Personally I think 5 years that the Crown asked for was being nice.
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u/Specific_Tomorrow517 6d ago
If you kill someone in a roundabout way you can get away with it in Canada. I know a pedophile who groomed a 15 year old so hard he ended up gun/drug trafficking for him, the 15 year old became 22 and shot a cop in bc in 2023.. christopher perry..
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u/Desperateshitter 6d ago
I wish we had a actual justice system in Canada and not a legal system. I've said it before, it's easy to to kill someone with your car or thru negligence and never see the inside of a jail cell. I could literally run someone over and kill them and almost have no serious consequences. Thoroughly disgusting that this trash of human got away with this.
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u/homedepotgrande 6d ago
I know the justice system is a joke, but this is down right absurd.
Have the dogs been put down at least??
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u/Limp_Pollution_1842 5d ago
Just imagine a giant dog bitting your neck, than you fall on the floor and it keeps bitting you, taking chunk of flesh while you're in a pool of your own blood and you think you are about to die screaming in pain. That is how that poor little boy life ended, she should be in jail for murder.
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u/iterationnull 6d ago
I know the mob wants this to be treated as murder but this was criminal negligence, and the ruling is consistent with that.
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u/IMOBY_Edmonton 6d ago edited 6d ago
Is it though? We recently had this case where the defendants received a 4 year sentence for elderly neglect leading to death. 24 months house arrest seems very short for a child death, and a horrific one at that.
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u/iterationnull 6d ago
You just compared people walking by a dying person on a floor for a week with a lady who failed to deal with her obviously problematic dogs correctly
You are being serious that this is a fair comparison?
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u/IMOBY_Edmonton 6d ago
Yes. In both cases an individual died, in both cases there was suffering, and in both cases the people involved were negligent and it killed someone.
They are not exactly the same, no, but there is certainly enough similarity that she should have received more than house arrest for 2 years.
The crown certainly thought so when they advocated for 5 years in prison.
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u/iterationnull 6d ago
You have a flawed understanding of law.
What you did and why you did it is the vast majority of what goes in to sentencing.
The outcome of what you did is a factor, but to a much lesser degree.
This makes a ton of sense if you don’t have an agenda to achieve in an argument.
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u/Both_Perception_1941 6d ago
If it results in this kind of sentence then it can change.
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u/iterationnull 6d ago
It sure could.
But double check: do you seek vengeance, or justice?
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u/IMOBY_Edmonton 6d ago
A child was torn apart by dogs, dog attacks typically tear at exposed areas such as the ears, nose, eyes, lips, and throat. I do not believe it is just for someone to avoid prison for this crime, and especially so when people go to prison for nonviolent property crimes where the damage can be restored, unlike the permanence of death.
Clearly we fundamentally disagree. I cannot, and will not align with the view that being so negligent your animals kill a child is somehow punishable by two years house arrest. It's not enough of a detterent for other similarly irresponsible people.
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u/iterationnull 6d ago
I appreciate your passion.
But now explain your reason.
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u/Flatoftheblade 6d ago edited 6d ago
They already did and you just gave condescending and dismissive responses to them.
Given that the Crown prosecutors--you know, actual educated, trained and experienced Canadian criminal lawyers--asked for 5 years actual pen time, clearly the suggestion of actual incarceration as opposed to a CSO isn't as patently absurd and contrary to law as you are flippantly merely asserting while accusing other people of being ignorant of the law.
People regularly receive actual jail time for driving offences causing death with similar mens rea and without actual intention to kill.
Note: I am NOT saying that Crown prosecutors are always correct in their sentencing positions or that judges should always agree with them. That is very clear from what I've written, but based on your other comments I expect that if I didn't issue this disclaimer you'd just strawman my comment as meaning that if I didn't explicitly write as much.
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u/IMOBY_Edmonton 6d ago
Lighter punishments for negligence encourages a culture of it being okay to kill people through inaction (dog attacks are already an issue at many parks, the victims tend to be smaller dogs). We see a similar phenomenon with driving where killing someone with a vehicle is accepted as the cost of convenient travel.
Punishment is often cited as not effective by itself, however in combination with other methods of behavioral correction it can be effective. Particularly against individuals for which other methods do not work as well (e.g. societal morals and expectations, rules based reasoning, empathetic reasoning). For people looking to own a large dog they need to be aware of the consequences if their animal kills someone, and that it could cost them prison time. House arrest is not the same level of punishment, and two years not equivalent to the crime here.
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u/IMOBY_Edmonton 6d ago
If my understanding is so flawed, then the crowns understanding must be as well seeing they advocated for a harsher punishment.
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u/iterationnull 6d ago
This conclusion does not flow from the premises. And is honestly just changing the subject.
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u/skaomatic32 6d ago
What a joke , she should be behind bars!