Appeals over for Manitoba mom who killed girl; inquiry can now proceed

WINNIPEG - A woman convicted of the brutal murder of her five-year-old daughter will not appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

That clears the way for a public inquiry into the Manitoba child welfare system and its handling of the case of Phoenix Sinclair.

Samantha Kematch, Phoenix's mother, was convicted along with her then-boyfriend Karl McKay of first-degree murder in the child's 2005 death.

The couple's initial appeal was rejected by Manitoba's top court and Kematch appeared interested in taking her appeal to the Supreme Court.

Kematch had until Monday to file that appeal, but the deadline came and went.

Her lawyer, Leonard Tailleur, said Kematch instructed him not to proceed, even though he was willing to do so.

Court was told that Kematch and McKay neglected, confined and repeatedly beat Phoenix and forced her to eat her own vomit. The girl's stepbrothers testified she was often hit, choked, shot with a BB gun and forced to spend days and nights lying naked in the basement of the family's home on the Fisher River First Nation north of Winnipeg.

Experts told court the girl suffered repeated injuries over a long period of time and had broken bones from her pelvis to her skull.

Three months before Phoenix's death, a tip prompted a social worker to visit the child's home, but the worker left without laying eyes on the girl.

After her body was found, then-premier Gary Doer agreed to call a public inquiry to determine how the child welfare system failed to keep track of the child's whereabouts or protect her.

Even though the inquiry's terms of reference and a shortlist of possible commissioners have been drafted for months, the Manitoba government said it couldn't begin the inquiry until Kematch and McKay exhausted their appeals.

A provincial spokeswoman said the government will now approach judges who may be able to commit to a long inquiry and will put the finishing touches on the terms of reference.-CP-