The mother of a seven-year-old girl found dead in a Langley, B.C., condo in 2018 has been found not guilty in her daughter’s death.
Kerry Ann Sharmilla Lewis was charged with first-degree murder in 2019 in connection with the death, up from what was initially second-degree murder.
She had pleaded not guilty after her daughter’s body was found in July 2018 on the floor beside the bathtub in the ensuite of her apartment.
The crown had argued in court that Lewis sedated seven-year-old Aaliyah Rosa and drowned her.
However, the judge said the crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Lewis committed an unlawful act.
She said only the mother knows what really happened that day.
Homicide investigators were initially called to a condo complex at 20053 68 Ave. on July 22, 2018, where Rosa’s body was found.
At the time, police said that a woman who “was involved with the investigation” was under medical care, while neighbours told Global News that a middle-aged woman had been seen being wheeled out of the building by paramedics.
Court documents at the time show that Lewis had once been the subject of a restraining order and that she required supervision for visits with her daughter.
Back in 2016, Rosa’s father had sole custody of her and Lewis was not allowed within 500 metres of the child’s home or school.
Lewis was granted supervised visits in February 2017 and unsupervised visits in May 2018.
At the time of the investigation, police said Rosa’s death was an isolated incident and that “investigators have a firm understanding of what happened and we don’t believe that the public is in any danger.”
-More to come.
-With files from Jon Azpiri