An Amherstburg woman who pleaded guilty to leaving her dead newborn baby in a London dumpster will not spend time behind bars.
Samantha Richards was handed a suspended sentence at the London courthouse on Wednesday. She was also given two years of probation, during which time she will have to get additional counselling.
Her defence lawyer Patricia Brown had been seeking a conditional discharge which would have left Richards without a criminal record, but in handing down his decision Justice Duncan Grace said that would be "too lenient."
"The circumstances of this offence are troubling. Clearly, she was wrestling with deep-rooted psychological issues," said Grace. "However, there was another life at stake."
Grace outlined Richards' emotional and mental state at the time of the crime and noted that since she had kept the pregnancy a secret "it is no surprise things did not end well." He believes Richards has shown genuine remorse, but due to the public interest in the case and as a deterrent for others faced with a similar situation he opted for the suspended sentence.
"Good luck on your road to recovery," Grace said to Richards, who sat with her head down, crying.
The 25-year-old woman was arrested and charged in June of 2016, a few days after the body of her newborn son was found in a dumpster in the area of Richmond Street and Mill Street. She pleaded guilty to a charge of concealing the body of a child in May. A charge of failing to obtain assistance in childbirth was dropped in December of last year because the Crown believed there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.
At a sentencing hearing in July, the court was told that Richards has lived as a recluse and struggled with feelings of shame, guilt, and self-hatred since secretly giving birth to the baby boy and putting his body in the dumpster. Prior to the incident, she was said to be a vibrant young woman with a plethora of friends. While she did not have a criminal record or substance abuse issues, she did have a history of seizures, anxiety, and panic attacks.
Richards has maintained the baby boy was born deceased, but Assistant Crown prosecutor Konrad de Koning noted there is no way of knowing for sure. The remains of the full-term newborn were found in a grocery bag by a man who was looking for recyclables in a dumpster behind an apartment building in the area of Richmond Street and Mill Street, two days prior to Richards’ arrest.
Speaking outside of the courthouse after the sentencing, Brown told reporters this has been an extremely stressful time for her client.
"We all hope for the best for Ms. Richards. We hope that she will be able to move past this and I think his Honour succinctly said what he wants for her -- for her to move beyond this and pick up the pieces of her life and forgive herself," said Brown. "There was a lot of self-hatred, a lot of remorse, a lot of guilt and shame attached to these proceedings... I think we all hope she can forgive herself and start moving forward and healing."
Richards has the option of applying for a pardon five years after the successful completion her probation, added Brown.
