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
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.