Whalen found guilty in death of daughter

(Update)

A guilty verdict has been handed down in the trial of a mother accused of killing her two year old daughter. Deliberations began and ended Tuesday. Scot Urquhart was in the courtroom when the verdict was read out less than two hours ago.

This is a stark horror story that began over four years ago with the birth of Marissa Whalen. Her mother Roseanne Whalen eventually became involved in a relationship with another woman, Rainbow Hill. And that relationship — in the end — sealed the fate of little Marissa’s young and very tragic life. On July 29th, 2011 in Fort Erie, Rainbow Hill picked up Marissa Whalen and dropped her head first into a bath tub — resulting in her death. At her trial, Rainbow Hill said that she beat the little girl every single day — her mother Roseanne Whalen did nothing. Rainbow Hill was convicted some time ago and sentenced to life in prison.

Tonight Marissa’s mother Roseanne Whalen was also convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Parole eligibility is still to be discussed in court. As the jury came into the courtroom tonight and read out the verdict, Marissa’s mother Roseanne broke into loud sobbing as she stood in the courtroom. No one reacted to her cries except her lawyer who came to stroke her shoulder and tried to comfort her.

This has been a very difficult trial with some very, very disturbing, shocking evidence along the way about the treatment of a poor two-year old girl, who was defenceless against the attacks of her stronger and older caregivers. The body was taken and buried in Ohsweken in July of 2011 and not found by police until October of that year.

Staff Sergeant David Hunter is with the Niagara Regional police: “This was a terrible case right from the start — a case that has been ongoing now for almost 3 and a half years. A tragic event when anyone dies. But when a young person of 2 years old dies, it certainly tugs on the heart strings of the community. This has been a very long and difficult investigation. Not only difficult for the police and prosecuting staff, but certainly difficult for the family members of everyone involved in the community. We believe as the police that it was a very just decision — an appropriate decision on the part of the jury and we’re very satisfied with the outcome.”

The jury was released from sequestor and sent home. They will return to the courthouse Wednesday morning at 10am and contribute to deliberation on parole eligibility which could be as little as 10 years or as many as 25 years for Roseanne Whalen. She will not officially be sentenced in this case until June 22nd. But the crime of second degree murder carries with it an automatic life sentence of 25 years.