Abbotsford (Correctional Service Canada/CTV/Global/Black Press) – On January 1, 2024, Lisa Batstone, an inmate from Fraser Valley Institution, died while in custody.
Various media reports state that Batstone had been serving an indeterminate life sentence for the second-degree murder of her 8 year old daughter, Teagan Batstone since September 2019. At the time of death, the inmate had been serving an indeterminate sentence, which commenced on September 3, 2019, for second degree murder.
CTV and Global report:
Teagan’s body was found in the back of a car in South Surrey on Dec. 10, 2014.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge found Batstone intended to smother her daughter before killing herself, but she ultimately could not follow through with the suicide.
The judge said Batstone did not want Teagan to be with her father after her suicide and therefore killing her daughter was a selfish act intended to hurt her ex-husband.
Justice Catherine Murray said although Batstone was likely suffering from depression, anxiety and borderline personality disorder at the time, her mental issues did not significantly mitigate her moral culpability.
The judge also said Batstone left notes in her home blaming her ex-husband for the murder and she told several lies to psychiatrists because she hoped to be found not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder.
The inmate’s next of kin have been notified. As in all cases involving the death of an inmate, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) will review the circumstances. CSC policy requires that the police and the coroner be notified.
