WATCH: Sentencing resumed for the woman responsible for the deaths of her two infants. Rumina Daya has the latest from Monday’s court proceedings.
VANCOUVER – A sentence is expected to be handed down on Oct. 7 for a woman convicted of two counts of infanticide against her newborn sons.
Crown is asking for eight years in jail for Sarah Leung; three years for the death of the first child, and five years for the death of the second child. The defence is asking for a three-year term and said Crown has not proved this is murder.
Defence is also asking for a 20-year court order that would require Leung to report all pregnancies to the Ministry of Children and Families.
The first baby was killed in April of 2009, and the second in March of 2010.
On Friday, Sept. 12, Leung took the stand and said she was ashamed for the death of her two baby boys. She apologized for the hurt she has caused and said when she sees other moms with their kids, she thinks that could have been her.
In court Monday, Sept. 8, defence painted Leung as a depressed, lonely person, but Crown argued there is no evidence of that.
On April 11, Leung was found guilty in the deaths of her two babies and was ordered to complete a mental health assessment before sentencing.
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The 28-year-old Leung was charged with second-degree murder after giving birth to two babies in the toilet of her family’s east Vancouver home and then disposing them in plastic bags she tossed in the garbage. Each time she hid the evidence and told her boyfriend she had miscarried.
According to Crown, Leung had been sexually active since the age of 16, something her parents didn’t approve of. The Crown said in court Monday that Leung chose to kill the babies because “she didn’t want to change her life.”
Although Leung was charged with second-degree murder, the jury opted for the lesser charge of infanticide. Her lawyer had argued she was so terrified of being disowned she disposed of the bodies after secretly giving birth.
The Crown said in court Monday that Leung has no signs of mental disorder or irrationality and is a convincing liar. The Crown also said Leung is capable of great deceit, and is very manipulative.
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