B.C. babysitter must be acquitted in toddler's 2011 drowning death, Supreme Court rules

Johna Baylon · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 06, 2025 1:27 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 6

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a pistillate primitively convicted in the 2011 drowning decease of a toddler successful her care must beryllium acquitted.

Tammy Marion Bouvette was babysitting 19-month-old Iyanna Teeple successful Cranbrook, B.C., successful 2011 when the toddler was recovered unresponsive successful the bath. Teeple was flown to a infirmary successful Calgary, wherever she aboriginal died. 

Bouvette was primitively charged with second-degree execution successful the child's death, then later pleaded blameworthy to the lesser complaint of transgression negligence. She was sentenced to 12 months successful jail.

But an independent review of the lawsuit determined the Crown hadn't disclosed each the grounds to Bouvette oregon her counsel earlier she entered her blameworthy plea.

In 2023, the B.C. Court of Appeal quashed her condemnation and ordered a enactment of proceedings, but declined to participate an acquittal. 

Bouvette appealed and, successful a ruling released Friday morning, the Supreme Court of Canada concluded she should beryllium instantly acquitted on the grounds that the Crown besides sought an acquittal and said it would telephone nary grounds astatine a caller trial.

'A miscarriage of justice'

The case became the taxable of an probe by CBC's The Fifth Estate in 2020 after CBC journalists uncovered a study that criticized pivotal pathology grounds successful the Crown's lawsuit against Bouvette.

Bouvette has maintained she did not maltreatment oregon termination the child and told The Fifth Estate she had wanted to debar a lengthier situation condemnation for a execution complaint erstwhile she made her plea.

In 2023, the B.C. Court of Appeal determined the B.C. Prosecution Service had failed to disclose to Bouvette's defence lawyers respective items of cardinal evidence, including the pathology grounds report, which supported Bouvette's assertion that she had not wounded oregon neglected the child.

Bouvette's former defence lawyer told The Fifth Estate that helium had not received that study from the Crown during the prosecution.

At the time, the judges wrote they "make nary uncovering of atrocious religion oregon malice connected the portion of the Crown. But neither tin we disregard that the disclosure breaches were not isolated oregon confined to accusation of dubious worth to the appellant.

"As a effect of worldly non-disclosure, the appellant was deprived of the accidental to marque an informed determination astir however to plead, apprised of the strengths and weaknesses of the lawsuit against her connected cardinal issues."

The tribunal ruled that Bouvette's transgression negligence conviction was "the merchandise of a miscarriage of justice," and ordered a enactment of proceedings due to the fact that retrying her lawsuit would beryllium an "abuse of process."

Bouvette told CBC News she is pleased with the determination and hopes she and her household tin "move forward."

"I'm conscionable blessed by everything and that the information is retired and everyone tin halt saying what they're saying astir me, and my full beingness could beryllium looked astatine successful a antithetic airy with maine and my family," Bouvette said.

"There's closure now."

'Conviction would beryllium unreasonable ... with nary evidence'

The Supreme Court's Friday determination says the circumstances of Bouvette's lawsuit "weigh heavy successful favour of an acquittal."

"[Bouvette] has already served the entirety of her sentence. The victim's household afloat supports an acquittal, and the condemnation resulting from her mendacious blameworthy plea has had a devastating interaction connected her life," the determination reads.

The judges were unanimous successful their determination that Bouvette should beryllium acquitted, if for antithetic reasons. 

Writing for the majority, Justice Nicholas Kasirer said the archetypal imaginable crushed for an acquittal nether the Criminal Code is wherever there's a deficiency of grounds to crushed a tenable conviction.

The 2nd imaginable crushed is wherever the Crown seeks an acquittal and says it would telephone nary grounds astatine a caller trial. 

Kasirer said Bouvette was acquitted connected this 2nd ground. 

The judgement notes that erstwhile Bouvette appealed to the tribunal to question an acquittal, the Crown besides "made important concessions" and agreed that she should beryllium acquitted.

It notes the Crown clarified successful submissions to the Supreme Court that if a caller proceedings were ordered, it would "call nary evidence."

WATCH | B.C. Court of Appeal says Bouvette's condemnation was a miscarriage of justice: 

"Unless it would beryllium contrary to the nationalist interest, an appellate tribunal indispensable acquit, thereby giving effect to circumstances that would pb straight to an acquittal if a caller proceedings were ordered, due to the fact that condemnation would beryllium unreasonable connected a grounds with nary evidence," the decision reads.

Kasirer goes connected to constitute that "rather than forcing the parties to spell done pro forma proceedings to execute this effect [the acquittal], oregon lasting successful the mode of this effect by entering a judicial stay, the conscionable effect is for the acquittal to beryllium entered now, adjacent though determination is grounds connected the grounds that could pb a tenable jury, decently instructed, to convict [Bouvette] at a caller trial."