Drunken father jailed over toddlers' freezing deaths

A father who left his two daughters to die in a freezing blizzard wearing only nappies and T-shirts was sentenced to three years in prison.

As the wind chill hovered at -50C, Canadian Christopher Pauchay lost his one-year-old and three-year-old daughters last January while walking to a neighbour’s house.

Pauchay’s family said he was drunk at the time.

He eventually made it to the house and was taken to hospital suffering from severe frostbite and hypothermia. Eight hours later, when he was able to speak, he asked about his children.

That set off a frantic search that ended hours later when the girls were found dead in a snowy field.

Pauchay’s common-law wife, who said publicly she would stand by him when he pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal negligence causing death last November, was not at home on the night of the incident. The couple had another baby girl earlier this year.

Defence lawyer Ron Piche told the court this week that Pauchay was a doting father who had a momentary lapse in judgment.

“There’s a lot of people that think wrongly about me. Those were my girls and I loved them,” Pauchay said.

However, provincial court Judge Barry Morgan said at the hearing in Saskatchewan yesterday that he felt Pauchay lacked insight into his behaviour and was not willing to accept responsibility for what happened.

The 24-year-old, a member of the Yellow Quill First Nation, had told a sentencing circle last month that he should never have been charged with a crime, and said the deaths were an accident.

Prosecutor Marylynne Beaton argued that Pauchay chose to get drunk while taking care of his daughters. He rejected help from a brother-in-law, who offered to take the girls when he realised Pauchay was drunk that night.

The prosecution also said there were signs Pauchay would not change his ways. While out on bail, he was arrested for allegedly breaching a condition not to drink alcohol.

Pauchay already has 52 convictions, most of them for property offences and failing to show up for court or comply with court orders.

Mr Piche said today that his client is relieved he did not get a harsher sentence, and there are no immediate plans for an appeal.

The 900-member Yellow Quill First Nation has been plagued for decades by alcohol abuse, high unemployment and a lack of housing. Following the girls’ death, Chief Robert Whitehead called for an addictions treatment centre on the reserve. A plan is in the works and in the hands of the Saskatoon Tribal Council, he said.