A 30-year-old mother who had been charged with second degree murder in connection with the death of her toddler in 2014 entered a guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter on Monday.
In September 2014, Livia Starlight called 911 for her unconscious son Traezlin. While en route to the Alberta Children’s Hospital, the two-year-old boy went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance. The young boy died in hospital days later.
During the police investigation, Starlight admitted to having hit the boy several times out of frustration. An autopsy determined Traezlin’s death was the result of blunt force trauma that seriously damaged his brain and spinal cord.
Traezlin had been returned to his mother by Tsuut’ina Family Services just three months prior to his death. The boy had been in foster care over concerns regarding drug and alcohol abuse in the home.
Sentencing is scheduled for Friday, July 7, 2017.
