Alberta man sentenced to five years in daughter’s death

A 22-year-old man from Red Deer, has been sentenced to five years for killing his infant daughter.

Julian Thomson had pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Thomson admitted he was angry at the baby’s mother when he shook four-month-old Zaria McCall, hitting her head on a baby toy and throwing her to the floor.

She died last November of blunt force trauma, suffering three separate skull fractures.

Crown prosecutor Jason Snider says the Crown doesn’t believe that Thomson intended to hurt his daughter.

He says the young man lost his temperature and committed “a violent and unspeakable act.”

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The family of Zaria McCall has released the following statement:

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Zaria and will be for the rest of our lives. Although we wish that the sentence handed to Julian Thomson could have been longer, there is no amount of punishment that can undo this horrible, horrible crime and give us back our precious little angel. We would like to thank Judge Wilson for being very thorough and explaining the basis of his decision and giving Julian the maximum sentence based on the precedent set by previous cases. One can hope that the punishment handed down can bring peace to grieving hearts, this is not the case for our family. We do understand the reasoning and the limitations put on Judge Wilson, but we cannot agree with the justice system that five years is an appropriate sentence for anyone, let alone a parent, that takes the life of an infant that has no ability to defend themselves. The violence and lack of remorse in this case warrant an much longer sentence for this crime. If anyone feels the same as our family we encourage everyone to contact the minister of justice to voice their opinion and hopefully change policy for future victims. We would never wish this pain on anyone and believe that a stronger punishment would deter similar crimes in the future. We ask that if any one would like to make a donation in Zaria’s name it is made to The Stollery Childrens’ Hospital Foundation, Suite 1502, 8215-112 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Y6G 2C8.”