Prosecutors in the murder trial of Lisa Batstone say that whether the South Surrey mother had intent to kill her daughter on Dec. 10, 2014 is the issue for the court to decide 91裸聊视频� and evidence will prove that was the case.
91裸聊视频淢s. Batstone made a decision to kill her daughter,91裸聊视频� Crown co-counsel Fatemeh Nejatali told the court during opening statements Tuesday morning in BC Supreme Court in New Westminster. 91裸聊视频淟isa Batstone killed Teagan during the early hours of Dec. 10 by suffocating her with a plastic bag.91裸聊视频�
Batstone is charged with second-degree murder in connection with her eight-year-old daughter91裸聊视频檚 death.
Nejatali told the court that 21 witnesses will be called in the case, including RCMP, a toxicologist and Teagan91裸聊视频檚 father, Gabe.
Evidence shared is to include details of a gap in electronic activity including emails and texts by Batstone in the early hours of Dec. 10, 2014 91裸聊视频� a gap Crown asserts is the time during which Teagan was killed.
The court is to also hear about four letters police found during a search of Batstone91裸聊视频檚 home later that day. One, Nejatali told the court, included the line 91裸聊视频淚 can91裸聊视频檛 believe I took my daughter91裸聊视频檚 life.91裸聊视频� Another, found on top of a garbage can under the kitchen sink, states, 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 so sorry.91裸聊视频�
The letters offer 91裸聊视频渁 window into (Batstone91裸聊视频檚) state of mind,91裸聊视频� Nejatali said.
The trial start followed several days of voir-dire evidence that was heard last month to determine if statements made by the accused to witnesses after eight-year-old Teagan91裸聊视频檚 body was found would be admissible in trial 91裸聊视频� which Justice Catherine Murray ultimately ruled would be the case.
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During the voir dire, the court heard from witnesses including Const. Elizabeth Cucheran, the officer who arrested Batstone after she was found curled up with her daughter91裸聊视频檚 body in the trunk of a car in a cul-de-sac just south of Crescent Road shortly after noon on Dec. 10, 2014.
Teagan had been a student at Rosemary Heights Elementary.
Cucheran told the court that Batstone, after being told at the Crescent Road scene that she was 91裸聊视频渦nder arrest for impaired driving,91裸聊视频� told the officer, 91裸聊视频淚 murdered her.91裸聊视频�
Medical professionals who interacted with Batstone at Peace Arch Hospital following her arrest were also among witnesses who gave evidence during the voir dire.
Dr. Douglas Maskall, a PAH psychiatrist, recounted what he had been told of how Teagan died; and how Batstone had said she 91裸聊视频渏ust wanted (Teagan) to be with Jesus.91裸聊视频�
Maskall also told the court that Batstone had said she killed her daughter to 91裸聊视频減rotect91裸聊视频� the youngster from her father 91裸聊视频� who the court heard Batstone had an 91裸聊视频渁crimonious91裸聊视频� relationship with 91裸聊视频� and because she didn91裸聊视频檛 want Teagan to 91裸聊视频渉ave her (mother91裸聊视频檚) brain.91裸聊视频�
Batstone had struggled with mental health since her teens, Maskall said. She told him at PAH following Teagan91裸聊视频檚 death that she had asked for psychiatric help months before. Batstone had been scheduled to see a psychiatrist in January 2015, Maskall noted.
Social worker Jennifer Culbert shared with the court Batstone91裸聊视频檚 description to her of how she had suffocated her daughter then tried to kill herself.
Batstone also said that she killed Teagan 91裸聊视频渢o spite91裸聊视频� her ex-husband, Culbert said.
Tuesday, Nejatali told the court that Teagan91裸聊视频檚 relationship with her father was not what Lisa Batstone had portrayed. (Family members last month told Peace Arch News that the father and daughter had a loving relationship.)
The father, after flying out from Ottawa to spend time with his daughter that week, had dropped her off at school on Tuesday, Dec. 9.
91裸聊视频淪he was killed in the early morning hours of Wednesday,91裸聊视频� Nejatali said, noting the court would hear that Batstone called her daughter91裸聊视频檚 school that same morning to say she was sick, and cancelled an appointment the pair had at a local physiotherapy clinic, again citing illness.
Testimony from Sgt. Heather Burwell, who attended Batstone91裸聊视频檚 home Dec. 12, 2014 to assist in a search warrant, photographing and documenting the scene, was to continue Tuesday afternoon.
Batstone was ordered in January 2015 to stand trial on a charge of second-degree murder, after a court-ordered 91裸聊视频渇itness assessment91裸聊视频� deemed her fit for the proceedings. However, there were multiple delays over the years that followed.
The trial is scheduled until Dec. 7.
