The Supreme Court of Canada has decided that a woman previously convicted in the 2011 drowning incident of a toddler under her care must now be acquitted. Tammy Marion Bouvette was looking after 19-month-old Iyanna Teeple in Cranbrook, B.C., when the child was discovered unresponsive in the bath. Teeple was transported to a Calgary hospital where she later passed away.
Initially facing a second-degree murder charge, Bouvette later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of criminal negligence and was handed a 12-month jail term. However, a subsequent assessment of the case revealed that crucial evidence had not been fully disclosed to Bouvette or her legal team prior to her guilty plea.
In 2023, the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned her conviction and ordered a stay of proceedings but refrained from granting an acquittal. Bouvette contested this decision, leading to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada releasing her from the charge of criminal negligence. The Crown also supported the acquittal, indicating it would not present any evidence in a retrial.
The case attracted attention in 2020 when CBC’s The Fifth Estate probed into a report criticizing key pathology evidence in the Crown’s case against Bouvette. Throughout the legal proceedings, Bouvette maintained her innocence, asserting that she did not harm the child. She expressed relief at the recent court decision, hoping to put the ordeal behind her and move on with her family.
The Supreme Court’s judgment emphasized that Bouvette’s conviction was deemed a miscarriage of justice, warranting a stay of proceedings as a retrial would be unjust. The court highlighted that Bouvette had already served her sentence, and her false guilty plea had profoundly impacted her life. The unanimous decision by the judges favored an acquittal for Bouvette, with the Crown also endorsing this outcome and agreeing not to present evidence in a potential new trial.
