WINNIPEG – A Winnipeg woman who took a stranger’s sleeping baby from a house party and smashed the toddler’s head against a sidewalk until a bystander intervened has been given one more year behind bars.
Nikita Eaglestick was sentenced to five years in jail Wednesday, but was given double credit for the two years she has already served. She could be eligible for parole in nine months.
Eaglestick had been charged with the attempted murder of the tot, Vanessa Houle, but reached a deal with the Crown, pleading guilty to abduction, assault causing bodily harm and failing to comply with a court order to stay away from alcohol.
The 21-year-old, who had no family or friends in the courtroom, showed little emotion as her sentence was read out.
“This was an inexplicable assault on a 13-month-old baby, unknown to Ms. Eaglestick at the time, as a result of excessive drinking which left her grossly intoxicated,” said Justice Deborah McCawley. “At the present time, Ms. Eaglestick poses a serious risk to public safety and must be separated from society.”
Eaglestick had been out on bail for only three days, and had been ordered by the court to abstain from alcohol, when she went to a Winnipeg house party Aug. 31, 2009. She had been drinking before she got there and continued to drink throughout the night, McCawley said.
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Around 4:30 a.m., McCawley said Eaglestick picked up little Vanessa, who was asleep on the couch and took her outside. There, she started smashing Vanessa’s face against the sidewalk.
Tyler Bilsborrow had stepped outside his family’s home for a smoke and heard “weird sounds, like screaming sounds” nearby. When he walked around the corner, he saw a woman beating a child.
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When he approached Eaglestick, she fled.
“She acknowledged that if she had not been seen by the man, she would have killed the child,” McCawley said.
When Bilsborrow reached the little girl, she was trying to crawl away. Her face was covered in blood, her eyes swollen shut, McCawley said. Eaglestick was found in the bushes at a nearby school, crying and covered in blood.
She offered no explanation for the attack other than to say she gets angry when she drinks. Eaglestick apparently blacked out and doesn’t remember taking Vanessa, McCawley said.
“No one, including Ms. Eaglestick, knows why she took the child, apparently unknown to her,” McCawley said.
Vanessa was initially taken to hospital in unstable condition with serious injuries to her face. She had to be intubated to prevent her air passages from swelling closed, McCawley said.
“Miraculously, since the incident, she has made a full recovery,” McCawley said. “There is no evidence of any scarring or permanent injuries.”
The toddler has since returned to her home reserve, McCawley said.
Eaglestick’s lawyers had argued the woman is intellectually impaired and has difficulty connecting actions with consequences. She was put on suicide watch during her time in custody, but McCawley said she has refused any addiction treatment.
Her lawyers had argued she had spent enough time in jail since the attack. They asked the judge to give her double credit for time served so she would only serve another 60 days in jail.
The Crown wanted Eaglestick to be sentenced to six years in prison and not be given double credit for time served.
Eaglestick will get three years’ probation when she is ultimately released.
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