Father pleads guilty to stabbing death of 3-year-old girl in Winnipeg
A man told court Thursday he was ready to accept punishment after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his three-year-old daughter.
"I accept the punishment and am following the law of God," Frank Nausigimana, 29, said through an American Sign Language interpreter.
Court heard that Jemimah Bunadalian was found with two stab wounds while buckled in her car seat inside her mother's vehicle last July.
An agreed statement of facts read into court said that earlier that day Nausigimana had approached the mother's vehicle outside his daughter's daycare in Winnipeg.
It said Nausigimana had a knife, forced himself into the car and directed the mother to drive.
The woman became distraught and he told her to switch seats with him, court heard, and she used the opportunity to run away. Court heard she didn't believe Nausigimana would harm their daughter.
But Nausigimana stopped the car a short distance away and, soon after stopping, he flagged down a passing vehicle and told the driver to call 911 because he had just killed his daughter, the agreed facts said.
The child was found with stab wounds to her heart and chest.
Nausigimana was charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in an agreement with Crown prosecutors.
When asked if he understood his plea, Nausigimana said, "Yes, I admit I am guilty."
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for September. The minimum sentence for second-degree murder is life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years. The Crown is requesting Nausigimana serve 19 years before he is eligible for parole and the defence wants 17 years.
An obituary for the girl said Jemimah made the most out of every second of her short life and would always say, "I love you."
Her mother was also deaf and, as a one-year-old, Jemimah learned the alphabet in sign language.
Police have said Nausigimana and the mother had not had a relationship for some time and there had been no contact for many months before the girl was killed.
Nausigimana was previously convicted of a 2017 assault against the mother when she was pregnant. Court heard that he had tried to force an abortion by making her drink a liquid mixture of salt, water and vodka against her will.
The mother was granted a protection order that same year, but not long after she requested it be revoked. She and the father went to the same church and she wanted him to be able to attend services.
Nausigimana was sentenced to one year of supervised probation for the assault.
During that hearing, court was told he came to Canada as a refugee from Burundi when he was a teen. He lost his hearing when he had meningitis as a child.
Nausigimana's mother moved to Ottawa and left him in foster care in Winnipeg. He remained in care until he was 21.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.