>The following is taken from CBC news.
All pertinent information is listed in order.
it is listed in chronological order. The victem impact statements are at the end, with my comments follwoing those.
–begin articles–
Guilty verdict in ‘Punky’ murder trial
Last Updated Wed, 25 May 2005 18:02:13 EDT
EDMONTON – Clifford Sleigh has been found guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated assault and kidnapping in the death of six-year-old Edmonton girl Corrine
(Punky) Gustavson.
The 11 jurors deliberated for about a day before reaching a verdict early Wednesday afternoon. They began their discussions about noon on Tuesday.
Corrine’s mother wiped away tears as the jury foreman read out the verdicts. Sleigh showed no visible emotion. He will be sentenced on Friday, when Punky’s
sister Roseanne will give a victim impact statement.
Testimony was so graphic during the trial that Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Terrence Clackson urged jurors to seek counselling.
The child was taken from her mother’s yard in north Edmonton in September 1992, and her body was found two days later in a truckyard in Strathcona County.
She was fully clothed, except for her shoes, but court was told she had been hastily re-dressed, with her two legs through one hole of her underwear, her
pants on backwards and her arms not through the jacket’s armholes.
Her disappearance made headlines across North America, ending up on the TV series Unsolved Mysteries and bringing more than 5,000 tips to the dozens of
police officers who were working full-time on the case.
Sleigh chose the closest kid to the fence
Sleigh was charged in 2003 with first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault, after police obtained a DNA sample from him.
At the start of the trial on May 9, Sleigh admitted to taking and sexually assaulting Punky, and tried to plead guilty to manslaughter. However, the Crown
wanted to proceed on the first-degree murder charge, which carries an automatic life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
He has maintained Punky was alive when he left her.
Sleigh, 42, also denied the attack was aggravated sexual assault. He admitted to taking Punky from her yard, and that he chose her because she was the closest
child to the fence.
Tuesday, Justice Clackson told the jurors that their job was to determine whether Sleigh planned to kill the girl.
Clifford Sleigh (CP file photo)
In his 47 pages of instructions to the jury, Clackson reviewed some of the evidence heard, including testimony from the medical examiner who said he believed
Punky had died after being smothered, and that injuries suffered during the sexual assault may have played a part in her death.
The medical examiner had also testified that there was little blood from her severe injuries, which he described as among the worst he has seen.
The jury also heard that Sleigh had been angry at his common-law wife the morning of the attack and wanted to punish someone.
In evidence the jury didn’t hear, a parole officer testified that Sleigh had been looking for another girl he knew in order to “rape her,” but the judge
didn’t allow the witness, saying it was only a recollection, with no written or video proof of the conversation, and that no context was provided.
Clackson told the jurors that even if Sleigh didn’t mean to kill Punky, but meant to cause bodily harm he knew was likely to cause death, he could still
be found guilty of first-degree murder.
The judge told the jurors not to consider the fact that Sleigh was in jail when police charged him with Punky’s death in 2003. The jurors weren’t told that
Sleigh has been convicted twice of sexually assaulting young girls.
No parole for 25 years for Alberta child killer
Last Updated Fri, 27 May 2005 21:57:45 EDT
EDMONTON – Clifford Sleigh has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years in the murder, kidnapping and sexual assault of six-year-old
Corrine (Punky) Gustavson.
The judge heard victim impact statements before sentencing the 42-year-old, who broke down and sobbed when he stood up to apologize to the Edmonton child’s
family.
Five members of Corrine’s family – including her sister, father and cousin – read victim impact statements in court, detailing the effect the girl’s 1992
death has had on them.
Corinne’s father told court he had a nervous breakdown and split from his wife after the murder, while her mother said she was robbed of the chance to watch
her daughter grow up, graduate and marry.
Sleigh was found guilty on all three charges on Wednesday after eleven jurors deliberated for about 11 hours. They were never told that Sleigh had two previous
convictions for sexually assaulting young girls.
At the start of the trial, Sleigh admitted to abducting and sexually assaulting Punky. He tried to plead guilty to manslaughter but the Crown rejected the
plea.
Punky disappeared from her north Edmonton yard on Sept. 6, 1992. Her body was found two days later in a truck yard.
She had been sexually assaulted and, according to the medical examiner, smothered.
Corrine (Punky) Gustavson
Punky had been playing in the yard with a friend when Sleigh drove by. Court heard that Sleigh, who was angry at his common-law wife, headed out to find
a girl he knew “to rape.” Unable to find her, he spotted Punky and grabbed her because she was the child closest to the fence.
Sleigh was charged in 2003 with first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault, after police obtained a DNA sample from him.
Sleigh has maintained Punky was alive when he left her.
Police had considered him a suspect early in the investigation, and said his baseball cleats matched prints where Punky’s body had been found. But his then-common-law
wife and friends said he had been with them the entire Labour Day weekend when the girl disappeared.
Victem impact statements
Karen Vallette (Corinne’s mother)
Since the day my daughter (Punky) went missing, my life and the lives of my family have been permanently damaged. There is not a day that goes by that we
don’t feel the pain of losing her. We think about her every day. What would she be like today? Will she be like her sister — boy crazy? I never got to
say bye to her or (say) `I love you my little girl.’ We can’t see (what) she would be like after she finished school. I never got the chance to see her
get married and have kids of her own.
I had a hard time packing up her stuff and putting (it) away. It took years. I have not felt safe after Punky was taken from us. I was unable to be alone.
It took me a long time to get over being alone. When I did find myself alone I (couldn’t) stop thinking about her, what she went through. Was she cold?
Did she hurt? Did she call out for me? I constantly wonder in my mind what she went through. What did you do to her for those days that you had her? Did
she ask you to bring her home to me?
I can’t let my oldest girl go out and have fun because (of) what happened to her sister. It’s hard to let go. No one knows how I feel because (it’s) hard
to tell. No one can feel like we do. It is hard for us at Christmas time and her birthday because you took that away from us. She was fun to be with. She
made everyone smile and laugh. All we have now is good memories and all the good time we had. I know she is looking down at us because she is my little
angel.
I want you to know that because of you my son does not enjoy his birthday because we had to put his sister (Punky) to rest on that day. But I want you to
know this: when he starts to deal with it in h
is own way we will start enjoying his birthday again. But for now I want you to know what you have done to
him and the rest of the family. He will not listen to anyone who wants to know how he is feeling . . . He goes to his room. It is his way of dealing with
the loss of his sister (Punky), his friend. You took away his soulmate.
So I want you to know my family will get over this someday and we will be stronger as a family. We may not have her with us. But we will have all our memories
of her. That’s one thing you will never take from us. The first hard thing I had to do is put Punky to rest and the second thing that I had to do is write
this.
Ray Gustavson (Corinne’s father)
The crime against our baby has had a devastating effect every day of my life. I feel so sad when I think about Corinne, and one can never forget I will
never see her grow up, have children, my grandchildren. She brought such joy to our family and a lot of sadness. Blame and guilt between Karen and I destroyed
the trust we had in each other and led to the breakup of our family.
The stress brought on from this brought on physical illness and emotional and nervous breakdown. I was unable to work, to provide for my family. I felt
helpless and depressed and this feeling lasted for several years. I felt empty inside my heart and body.
This crime has taken away my family, my trust in people. I feel the rage when I think about what was done to Corinne and I’m afraid for the safety of my
other children.
Ron Davies (Corinne’s uncle)
I want you to know we are in pain every day. That I am in pain because Punky is not here to be part of my life. You took away my friend, my coffee buddy
and someone who loved life and would never, ever think of hurting another living thing. A very beautiful lady who was very special to all of us.
You took away our opportunity to watch her grow up. We will never know what she would have become in her life — a doctor, a lawyer or maybe a teacher.
We can only dream of what might have been. It hurts so much not having her here. When we were having a bad day or hurting, she would come around and say
or do something that would put a smile on our face or make us laugh.
You took all that and her future away. You shattered a family and changed the course of all our futures. We only have our memories and the knowledge that
our guardian angel watches over us to give us comfort. I pray to Mother Earth and the spirits of the wolf and the eagle that your soul will never, ever
rest in peace. I hope that every time you close your eyes you are haunted by what you did.
“I pray to Mother Earth and the spirits of the wolf and the eagle that your soul will never, ever rest in peace. I hope that every time you close your eyes
you are haunted by what you did.”
Roseanne Gustavson (Corinne’s sister)
I’ve been waiting a very long time for this moment, but I just can’t put my fingers on what I want to say to you, but all I would like you to hear is that
I will never forgive you for taking my baby sister away from me and the rest of my family.
Amanda Davies (Corinne’s cousin)
Corinne captured many hearts. Even before Corinne’s life became an investigation, people were drawn to her spirit. Corinne was the most gracious child.
Corinne would be the little girl dividing her candy so everyone would get a piece. Corinne had the best humour. Corinne was a sly child, always playing
tricks on us. But Corinne always revealed herself with a little giggle to say `Here I am’ or `It was me.’
The day you took her we all waited and searched for that little innocent giggle and for 13 years, Sleigh, that giggle was branded in our brains and now
if you listen with me you, too, will hear that little innocent giggle, revealing herself. Here she is. Corinne is giggling loud and clear.
–end articles–
My thoughts.
The only thing I have to say is, mister, you deserved what you got! I can’t believe someon would do that. My heart goes out to the Punky family. It’s hard when you lose a child, harder when you lose a child to an idiot like that! I hope he dies in that jail cell!
