Laura Coward, the Millet mom who drugged and killed her nine-year-old daughter in the summer of 2014, was handed a life sentence with no chance of parole for at least 18 years on Friday.
Coward pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on February 16, avoiding the need for a full trial on her original charge of first-degree murder.
She admitted to killing her daughter, Amber Lucius, after drugging her with sleeping pills in a remote field near Sundre.
When she couldn’t rouse her, she believed the girl had died of an overdose, so Coward panicked and set her SUV on fire.
Coward was arrested while standing outside the burned-out vehicle.
Medical officials say that Amber died of smoke inhalation, carbon monoxide poisoning and hyperthermia.
The Crown asked for no parole for 20 years while the defence requested a period of 10 to 12 years saying that her guilty plea was a mitigating factor.
Court documents show that Coward had been involved in a bitter custody battle and divorce proceedings with the girl’s father, Duane Lucius.
Duane was in court for the proceedings and issued a statement following the sentencing saying…
Today is another reminder of my devastating loss. Amber was an innocent child and a selfish act ended her life.
I had only had one year with Amber to renew our bond as father and daughter. During that time Amber was always helping me on the farm and loved playing outside. She was a happy little girl loved by the entire community.
Since the moment Amber was born, she was the light of my life. She was energetic, talkative and full of joy. I will never get to watch my daughter grow up, but I know she would have done great in life.
No sentence will do justice for what has happened to Amber. As a father, I have had to bury my child and nothing will bring her back. I can only hope that other children are not being used as bargaining chips in a divorce or used to hurt the other parent. No parent should ever take a child’s life just to get back at the other. We are supposed to provide our children with love, not scare them. Because of this situation she was taken away from me, and all who loved her, far too soon.
Amber was my life and I will miss her every day until my end. I will never forget her.
Justice Scott Brooker called the killing a 'vile, evil crime' and said the sentence had to reflect 'society's disgust and outrage.'
“In my opinion, the only logical thing to draw from the facts is that Ms. Coward murdered her daughter as a means of getting back and punishing Amber’s father,” said Brooker. “Words would not begin to adequately express the devastation the killing of his daughter has had on Duane Lucius.”
Coward was sentenced to life with no parole for at least 18 years and cried as the sentence was read.
