'Mommy is sorry': Regina woman guilty of killing her toddler accepts responsibility during sentencing submissions

Warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing

A Regina woman wishes she could take back her actions that killed her toddler in June 2021. During sentencing submissions, Brittney Burghardt told court that she failed her kids and takes full responsibility.

Burghardt, 28, previously pleaded guilty to forcible confinement and manslaughter in the death of her two-year-old daughter, Kassie. She was initially charged with second-degree murder.

The Crown wants to see Burghardt spend a total of at least 12 years in prison for her offences. The defence argued for a lesser sentence of two years in custody given her reduced cognitive capacity and lower moral blameworthiness.

Autopsy results confirm Kassie died from blunt force trauma to the head in June 2021, one month before her third birthday.

Kassie suffered the injury after being repeatedly thrown into a wall by her mother, according to an agreed statement of facts between the Crown and defence.

“If I had the chance to go back, I would stop, think and change my actions for the better for her and her brother and sister,” Burghardt said in court while reading a statement she wrote.

“I wish I could have one more chance to see her again, to tell her how much mommy misses her and to have that chance to give her hugs and tell her that mommy loves her and that mommy is sorry.”

The Crown submitted text messages between Burghardt and her partner, Justin Anderson, that show the couple viewed Kassie as a “brat”, “burden” and “problem child” compared to Burghardt’s other two children.

“When she had enough of her daughter’s misbehavior, she killed her,” said Crown prosecutor Chris White.

On the morning of June 9, 2021, Kassie refused to stand in the corner of her room for a timeout, according to the facts presented in court. Burghardt became frustrated and threw her daughter into the corner, hitting Kassie’s head on the wall.

Burghardt said the girl then “glared at me,” which is when the mother threw her daughter against the wall a few more times before Kassie collapsed and became unresponsive.

Before calling 911, Burghardt contacted Anderson to tell him what happened. The couple concocted a plan to tell police the girl accidentally tripped and fell down the stairs.

A little over an hour after Kassie had been hurt, Burghardt finally called EMS.

Paramedics responded to the home on the 2300 block of Retallack Street. Kassie was taken to hospital before being airlifted to Saskatoon. She was pronounced brain dead on June 11, but kept on life support to ensure her organs could be donated.

Court heard that in the weeks leading up to Kassie’s death, Burghardt had been taping her daughter’s wrists and legs down to the bed every time she went to sleep for a nap and at night.

“She was physically bound. I would submit to you that is the worst kind of confinement,” White said.

White told court it was Anderson’s idea to tape down Kassie, and Burghardt followed along. The couple later progressed to blindfolding the girl as well.

“It’s her duty as a mother to care for her and to protect her from harm, not subject her to it,” White said.

“She failed spectacularly in the duty she owed to that child.”

According to defence lawyer Thomas Hynes, Burghardt has always had significant cognitive deficits and problems with her parenting abilities. A psychological assessment shows she has a moderate intellectual disability.

Burghardt was 26 at the time of her daughter’s death, but Hynes argued that she operates similar to a youth due to her reduced cognitive functions.

“Brittney’s capacity is a lot lower than a lot of other offenders that come before the court,” Hynes said.

Burghardt had been receiving at-home support through a Ranch Ehrlo program that brought workers into her home 40 hours a week to help her care for her three children.

However, Hynes said the support stopped in March 2021 when the provincial government cut the program’s funding. He suggested that was the tipping point for the events leading up to Kassie’s death.

Hynes told court Burghardt is “not able to parent three young children without sufficient supports in place.”

Burghardt’s other two children have been apprehended. She is not currently in custody.

“Brittney takes full responsibility for what she’s done,” Hynes said. “She’s extremely remorseful.”

Hynes argued for a significantly lower sentence similar to that of a manslaughter sentence handed down to a youth. He suggested a two-year sentence in a minimum-security institution for manslaughter and three years of probation for forcible confinement.

“We are asking for an extraordinarily unique sentence in this case because Brittney’s circumstances are extraordinarily unique,” Hynes said.

The Crown asked for a prison sentence of at least 10 years for the manslaughter conviction and a two-year sentence for forcible confinement. White suggested the sentences should be served consecutively for a total of 12 years.

Justice Beverly Klatt will now consider both the Crown and defence’s arguments before delivering her final sentencing decision on this June 16.

Anderson has also pleaded guilty to forcible confinement. He is scheduled back in court for sentencing submissions on March 27.