How Could You? Hall of Shame -Katherine Fitzpatrick/Catherine Dufresne UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Chelsea, Quebec, Canada, 53-year-old international adoptive parent Katherine Fitzpatrick, nee Catherine Dufresne, has been arrested in the death of her 7-year-old daughter, Sophie, whom she and her husband adopted from China five and a half years ago. The adoptive father, Murray, has been cleared of involvement. On Saturday October 22, 2011, upon returning from a business trip as an investment adviser and financial planner with BMO Nesbitt Burns, Murray found his dead daughter and his wife, who tried to take her own life, in a grisly scene in their upscale home that is located across the street from former Prime Minister Mackenzie King.

CBC reports that Sophie was declared dead at the hospital. Catherine Dufresne “remains in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said strangulation is a possible cause of Sophie’s death, pending an autopsy. They would not confirm the mother’s injuries.”

“Murder charges were laid Sunday over the phone, police said, but they will be formally laid against Dufresne at a Gatineau courthouse Monday afternoon. Her lawyer will represent her as she continues to recover in hospital.”

According to Ottawa Citizen, Catherine used to work in Ottawa for a Watertown, New York-based PBS station.

According to CTV, ” police sources told QMI Agency a letter was allegedly found, in which the horrific act is explained.” A friend of the family for the past twenty years, Sue Marchand, “had seen Sophie on Thursday as the girl made her way home from school with her mother. Nothing seemed awry with Katherine Fitzpatrick, her friend said.

“She was just like she always is; bubbly, outgoing, friendly, funny. She asked me if I wanted to pay her bills cause we were at the mailbox and I said, ‘No, I’ve got enough thanks’.”

Sophie had just started a new school year — Grade 2 — at the Montessori school.

“For Murray, Sophie was the highlight of his life, the child he always wanted and he got one,” Sue Marchand said. “And Kathy, the love of his life, and I don’t know how he’s going to cope with all of this. I don’t know how anybody copes with it.”

Quebec mom faces murder charge in daughter’s death
[CBC 10/24/11]

Chelsea woman charged in death of 7-year-old daughter
[Ottawa Citizen 10/24/11 by Matthew Peterson]

Quebec woman charged in adopted daughter’s death
[CTV 10/24/11]

Mom charged with murder of daughter, 7
[CNews 10/22/11 by Justin Sadler, Kelly Roche/QMI]

Update: “A Quebec woman was charged with first-degree murder Monday after her seven-year-old adopted daughter was found dead over the weekend in the family home.

Catherine Dufresne made a brief court appearance in Gatineau, Que., where she was formally charged in the slaying of Sophie Fitzpatrick.

Dufresne’s lawyer requested a 30-day psychiatric evaluation and announced his intention to seek a publication ban at the next court date.

Dufresne, 53, will remain in custody and is scheduled to appear again before a judge on Nov. 24.”

“A provincial police spokeswoman said an autopsy has been ordered to determine the girl’s cause of death.”

Quebec woman facing 1st degree murder charge in slaying of adopted daughter
[Winnipeg Free Press 10/24/11 by The Canadian Free Press]

“Kathrine Dufresne did not enter a plea. She looked stunned as she appeared briefly and was whisked back to prison or to hospital — court officials weren’t sure which.”

“Court officials had told reporters earlier Monday Dufresne would be present only by telephone link with the court from her hospital room, where she has been for two days.

Instead, she was whisked in a few minutes before court was expected to deal with her case, and left after just a few moments.

She is represented by Gatineau, Que., lawyer Wayne Lora.

Crown attorney Sylvain Petitclair was cautious in giving details of the case, but confirmed the first-degree charge means the Crown believes Sophie’s death was premeditated.”

“In order to adopt Sophie from China, Dufresne and Fitzpatrick would have had to submit to a rigorous and expensive process that is carefully monitored by the Chinese government.

The couple would have worked with one of three agencies in Quebec that facilitates the adoptions of Chinese children. After prospective parents submit their applications through an agency, a worker from the Quebec ministry of youth protection visits their home to ensure they are mentally, physically and economically ready to support the child.

Every country has different requirements for people wishing to adopt children from abroad. China only accepts couples who have been married for at least two years and screens to ensure they do not have a history of serious mental illness, long-term physical health problems, domestic violence, sexual abuse, child abandonment, drug abuse or alcohol abuse.

At least one spouse must have stable employment. According to Quebec’s international adoption secretariat, couples can expect to spend between $19,500 and $22,000 from the day they submit their application to the day they bring their new child home.

Post-adoption support is available through the Quebec ministries of health and youth protection.

This summer, China changed a long-standing guideline requiring parents of adopted children to submit a report detailing the child’s development every six months until the age of 18. Parents are now required to submit a report every five years.”

Que. woman accused of killing 7-year-old daughter appears in court
[Montreal Gazette 10/24/11 by Tom Spears and Claire Brownwell]

Update 2/Hat Tip to our readers who commented:

“Police have confirmed a Chelsea, Que. woman facing a first-degree murder charge for the death of her seven-year-old daughter has died.

Katherine Dufresne, 53, was found unconscious in the shower at the Hull jail Wednesday morning after a suicide attempt. She was taken to hospital in critical condition.

News broke Thursday morning that she had died.

Dufresne was accused of killing her adopted daughter Sophie Fitzpatrick. Sophie was found unconscious at the family home in Chelsea, Que. on Oct. 22 and pronounced dead at the hospital.

Dufresne was to be transferred to a facility in Montreal and appear in court on Feb. 28.

Police say she died around 9 p.m.”

Quebec woman accused of killing daughter dies
[ctvottawa.ca 1/12/12]

“The head of the union representing Quebec prison guards said suicide-prevention measures in the province’s institutions are “archaic and prehistoric.”

Stéphane Lemaire made his comments the morning after a Chelsea mother charged with killing her adoptive daughter hanged herself in the shower area of the Hull Detention Centre.”

“Kathrine Dufresne, 53, is the second person awaiting trial to commit suicide in a Quebec prison this week. On Monday, Paul Laplante, who was accused of murdering his wife, hanged himself with a sheet at the Rivière-des-Prairies detention centre in Montreal. Dufresne had been under 24-hour surveillance after she was accused in the death of seven-year-old Sophie Fitzpatrick. But on Wednesday morning, Dufresne was granted 10 minutes of privacy to shower — and she used that time to take her own life. The guard outside the stall grew suspicious when Dufresne’s shower ran long, Lemaire said.

“The guard broke down the door and found her hanging,” Lemaire said.

Dufresne was unconscious and died around 9 p.m. that night. Police are investigating.
She was scheduled to be transferred to the Tanguay Detention Centre for women in Montreal on Thursday, Lemaire said. The Hull jail has both men and women in custody.

Sophie was found asphyxiated on Oct. 21 in the family’s home in the Kingsmere neighbourhood of Chelsea. Dufresne was also found injured at the time, but police have not released any other details.

Dufresne’s lawyer Wayne Lora said his client did not seem “down” on Monday when a Montreal psychiatrist determined in a report prepared for the Crown that she was fit to stand trial for first-degree murder in her daughter’s death. The defence planned to contest that decision at Dufresne’s next court appearance scheduled for Feb. 28.

“Maybe life just beat her down and she just cracked,” Lora said. “When you make up your mind to do yourself in, they would have to chain you to your bed and even then you could try it. There’s no way of foreseeing something like that. People that want to commit suicide are going to commit suicide.”

But Lemaire said suicide-prevention measures at Quebec prisons are “archaic and prehistoric.”

“Even if someone is under constant surveillance, prisons are not always adapted. The detention centre in Hull is overpopulated,” Lemaire said. “That’s not to say she would not have succeeded in killing herself in Montreal. We need to completely revamp our prisons. We need a major investment. The staff are doing everything they can but we have old prisons — they’re not modern.”

Suicide-prevention in Quebec jails ‘archaic, prehistoric’: Union
[Leader-Post 1/12/12 by Chloe Fedio]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

It is possible that a more stringent screening in the homestudy could have assisted in this situation by denying the homestudy approval or ensuring that appropriate psychological care be given and followed up with postplacement.