By Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press
The Manitoba Law Courts building in Winnipeg on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods)
The father of a toddler who died after ingesting fentanyl in the family’s Winnipeg home has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for failing to seek medical help in a timely manner.
The manslaughter trial for Garry Bruce was to begin on Monday in front of Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Christian Monnin but didn’t move ahead as Bruce entered a guilty plea.
An agreed statement of facts presented in court said it took roughly seven hours for Bruce and his partner, Sabrina Boulette, to call 911 after they noticed their one-year-old daughter Hanna Boulette was sick in March 2023.
It said the home was in a deplorable state, with garbage, dog feces and drug paraphernalia scattered around. In one instance, officers found a syringe filled with fentanyl in an open diaper box on the bathroom floor.
Court heard it’s unclear how Hanna ingested the opioid but that her death would likely have been avoidable if her parents had sought medical intervention.
“Treatment was available. An antidote to opiate overdose is available, and it is effective. And it has very little long-term consequence when administered in a timely fashion in an appropriate dosage … that should have been done,” said Crown prosecutor Boyd McGill.
“Mr. Bruce and Ms. Boulette collectively made the decision not to do that, and the consequence was tragic.”
Police first charged Bruce and Boulette in February 2024 after a lengthy investigation.
Court heard the toddler began acting listless on the morning of her death. As time went on, Hanna began getting sicker, at which point her parents called for help.
Hanna was in cardiac arrest by the time paramedics arrived. She later died in hospital. An autopsy determined that the child died from acute fentanyl intoxication.
Bruce and Boulette devised a cover story to tell police about what happened because they feared child and family services would apprehend Hanna, the agreed statement of facts said. They told officers that Hanna was left with a friend while the couple was apartment hunting.
Boulette kept the ruse up while questioned by police but later confessed to what actually occurred, court heard.
“Mr. Bruce didn’t intend for his child to die. He didn’t set out to harm her,” Bruce’s lawyer Kristen Jones told the judge.
“The cruel, sick sort of irony in telling this lie as an attempt to keep (Hanna) with them when the actual effect contributed to losing her forever, is something that he will never forgive himself for.”
Bruce has a short history of criminal offences, including one for drug trafficking in 2010.
Court heard Bruce has suffered from significant trauma in his life. The deaths of family members and a contentious custody battle with his ex-wife propelled Bruce into drug addiction.
Wearing a prison-issued grey sweatsuit and his dark hair combed back, Bruce wept through the roughly two-hour hearing.
“I’m sorry. My family is everything to me. I’m so sorry,” the 40-year-old said.
The Crown and Bruce’s lawyers asked for a joint recommendation of a sentence of just under three years, or time served.
Bruce was expected to be officially released later Monday.
“This matter is profoundly tragic and serious. It involves a basic failure of duty owed to a child – one of the most vulnerable members of our society. The consequences of that failure are irreversible. Mr. Bruce will live with that … for the rest of his life,” Monnin said in giving his decision.
Boulette earlier pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing.
