Brampton couple found guilty of killing 10-year-old boy lose appeal

TORONTO – A Toronto-area father and stepmother who fatally abused the man’s 10-year-old son have lost a bid to have their convictions overturned.

Garfield Boothe and Nichelle Rowe-Boothe were found guilty two years ago of second-degree murder in the death of Shakeil Boothe, whose frail and beaten body was found in his bed in Brampton, Ont., in 2011.

Both received an automatic life sentence, with Rowe-Boothe ineligible for parole for 13 years and her husband for 18 years.

READ MORE: Brampton couple convicted of 2nd-degree murder of Shakeil Boothe

In filing her appeal, Rowe-Boothe argued the trial judge had erred in finding that her statements to police before her arrest were voluntary.

Garfield Boothe, meanwhile, listed among the grounds of appeal that Ontario Superior Court Justice Fletcher Dawson refused to try him and his wife separately.

But a three-judge panel with the Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed the couple’s arguments, saying Dawson had made no errors.