It was an accident, says father of 2 girls who froze to death

[Praxius]

Christopher Pauchay has never publicly explained what happened last January on the Yellow Quill First Nation.

Christopher Pauchay pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death
It was an accident, says father of 2 girls who froze to death

A Saskatchewan man who pleaded guilty in October to criminal negligence causing death after his two young daughters froze to death says an accident was to blame.

Christopher Pauchay has never publicly explained what happened last January on the Yellow Quill First Nation.

The two girls, ages three and one, were found dead in a snowy field on the reserve about 280 kilometres east of Saskatoon following a night when their father was in charge of them.

He didn't testify and has refused to talk to the media outside court.

However, in a recent interview with CBC News in his lawyer's office in Saskatoon, Pauchay insisted that what happened to Kaydance and Santana Pauchay was all an accident.

He did not elaborate, however.

Don't elaborate, fine..... then you're full of sh*t and it wasn't an accident, it was complete drunken stupidity..... AKA: You're fault.

The Crown argues Pauchay was drunk and what he did — losing the lightly clad girls in temperatures that felt like -40 C with the wind chill — was akin to child abuse.

Father coping with help of elders

Pauchay didn't want to talk much about what happened that night.

"I'm sorry. I can't answer that. I don't want to answer that question," said Pauchay, who is no longer in custody and is awaiting sentencing.

Today, he said, he's coping with the help of elders.

"It just makes you feel so much better. Your spirit is high. It's a good feeling," he said.

Pauchay no longer lives with the girls' mother. He misses his daughters, he said.

He also said he still struggles with alcohol and that he has suffered enough.

"I don't believe in punishment. Forgiveness is better than anything else. Punishment doesn't do nothing," he said.

Double Negative so it does, and forgiveness is better then accepting punishment and consequence for your actions?

Tell that to the idiot gangs and teenage thugs around here who keep getting away with crimes who don't seem to learn from their mistakes due to lack of punishment.

The Crown is calling for prison time, while the defence wants a sentencing circle so that elders and other people from the community can advise on an appropriate sentence.

The judge will decide what will happen next at a hearing in Rose Valley next month.

Jail him..... taking your kids out in light clothing in -40 temps is plain stupid.... I don't care how damn drunk you think you are, I already know that if my oven exploded and I got a shard of the glass in my neck and I got to goto the hospital and it's cold out like the above, I still got enough brains to wear a coat.

Hell I've been pretty screwed up on some heavy stuff in my younger years and I still had the brains to protect myself and those around me.

And if he's just going to say it was an accident but not explain why, then he's full of sh*t and has yet to accept his responsibility for what he did.

 

[Ron in Regina]

"....and that he has suffered enough" (?????????????????)
-lightly clothed= each girl had on a T-Shirt & a diaper, so NO coat, socks, pants, Mitts, hats, scarves,
-the "father" was drunk out'a his face
-the mother (7&1/2mo pregnant at the time) was at a different party and drunk out'a her face
-when this clown decided to head out in the night with these two kids, he wraps a blanket around
them and leaves a warm house to head out into -50+C (not -40C) with the wind-chill....
-this loser (the name fits) eventually drops (looses?) one of the kids but carries the other one for
a while before he misplaces (looses?) that one also in a snowbank. He makes it to someone's place
and beats on the door. He's drunk as a skunk & more than half frozen. An ambulance is called but
this knob passes-out-cold as soon as he's in a warm house.
-this guy wakes up in hospital (when he's sober enough) and asks eventually, "So, how're my daughters
doing?" That's the first anyone even knew these little girls where even missing, and not dumped off with
some random relatives somewhere.
-It takes a day to find the first girl, and another day to find the second a couple hundred meters away.
No blanket....just in a diaper and a T-shirt each...
-this guy and his wife-type had another baby about 2 months later. They named her "Miracle." I thought
they should have named this little baby "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome."
"....and that he has suffered enough" (?????????????????)

 

[Praxius]

Ah yes, I remember much of that information now.

Maybe he thinks he suffered enough from public ridicule...... oh no.... he shouldn't be getting off that easily.

Like seriously, how the hell do you lose one kid..... and then just keep walking off, esspecially in that weather?

Oh don't worry, I'll come back for you in a couple of hours, just grab some snow like I taught you and make a little ice shelter, here's a little beech bucket...... numb nuts. :evil:

And if he thinks it was an accident because it happened when he was drunk..... well it doesn't work that way.

Anybody remember that idiot who decided to rape some woman a few years back and then his defense was that he was too drunk to know what he was doing, therefore he shouldn't be found responsible?

The first judge agreed with him, public outrage occured, a second judge corrected the case and sent his ass to jail.

Being drunk does not excuse your actions or inactions..... you drank the alcohol, you're responsible from there on in whatever occurs. Can't handle that responsibility? Don't drink.

 

[JLM]

Ah yes, I remember much of that information now.

Maybe he thinks he suffered enough from public ridicule...... oh no.... he shouldn't be getting off that easily.

Like seriously, how the hell do you lose one kid..... and then just keep walking off, esspecially in that weather?

Oh don't worry, I'll come back for you in a couple of hours, just grab some snow like I taught you and make a little ice shelter, here's a little beech bucket...... numb nuts. :evil:

And if he thinks it was an accident because it happened when he was drunk..... well it doesn't work that way.

Anybody remember that idiot who decided to rape some woman a few years back and then his defense was that he was too drunk to know what he was doing, therefore he shouldn't be found responsible?

The first judge agreed with him, public outrage occured, a second judge corrected the case and sent his ass to jail.

Being drunk does not excuse your actions or inactions..... you drank the alcohol, you're responsible from there on in whatever occurs. Can't handle that responsibility? Don't drink.

I'll buy that, if drunkeness is going to qualify as "an accident", what protection do our children have? The father is no less guilty than had he have driven a vehicle while drunk and killed two children .

 

[shadowshiv]

Some people need to become sterilized as they do not deserve to have children. The two "parents" in this case are perfect examples of this.:angryfire:

As far as sentencing goes, far too often you hear about the punishment being doled out in the sentencing circle to NOT fit the crime. While he is not as bad as the two "people" that murdered their child(Phoenix), he is still quilty of a crime and he should be placed in prison for it. Parents are supposed to protect their children. That is something that was sorely lacking.:-(

 

[Praxius]

Related information: (Must have been reading our comments)

Father of frozen girls surprised by level of vitriol
Father of frozen girls surprised by level of vitriol - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca

SASKATOON — A Saskatchewan man who admits to his role in the freezing deaths of his two young girls says he’s surprised by harsh comments about him posted on websites.

In his first public comments since the girls died last January, Christopher Pauchay told CBC Newsworld he’s not like the man portrayed in the media.

"What you see on TV or read in the paper, that’s not me. I love my girls. It’s hard watching the media or even going through the media."

He says he was kicked out of a restaurant once because of what happened.

But he also says it doesn’t really bother him when the public judges him, unless he stops to think about it too much.

Pauchay, 24, pleaded guilty last month to criminal negligence causing death, and is waiting for a judge to decide whether to allow an aboriginal sentencing circle.

Court has heard that Pauchay was drinking on the bitterly cold night he took his daughters outside on the Yellow Quill reserve and became separated from them.

The girls, who were three and one, were found dead in a snowy field on the reserve about 280 kilometres east of Saskatoon.

Pauchay didn’t want to talk about what happened that night.

"I’m sorry, I can’t answer that. I don’t want to answer that question," he told CBC.

All he said that the whole thing was an accident, and that he loved the girls. He said he was their main caregiver and spoke emotionally about what they were like.

Pauchay says he’s had a lot of support, but he’s also heard a lot of negative comments. He said elders are helping him cope.

Well depending on how the sentencing goes, it could get even worse.

 

[karrie]

I flip flop.

Having seen life on reserves, I know how normalized the heavy drinking can be. How many parents grew up with their parents getting drunk off their asses in the evening, so, why think twice about doing it yourself? I end up feeling pity for this man who, to certain ways of my thinking, never really had a chance to live a healthy life. Segregated. Living in a culture of drug and alcohol abuse. I can't stop the pity from pouring out. My heart wants to believe that when this man did what he grew up seeing all the time, tying into his nightly bottle, he had no clue it would take him to where it did.

But then I realize rationally, that's just racism. He deserves no pity from me anymore than any other dad who'd get drunk off his ass and end up doing something this stupid. I've seen enough of Saskatchewan to know they have some pretty extensive outreach programs, that there are constantly workers out there trying to help with these problems, that any person should know better than this.

flip flop. flip flop.

 

[shadowshiv]

I think that if he ends up getting "let off" as far as the sentencing goes, he may wind up facing vigilante justice. I am not saying that is right, but when something like this happens otherwise normal people may decide to take the law into their own hands. I hope that he ends up getting a prison sentence and prevent any of that from occuring.

And he didn't expect that level of vitirol? Being directly responsible for the death of two children will generally cause you to not be liked.:roll:

 

[Ron in Regina]

I think that if he ends up getting "let off" as far as the sentencing goes, he may wind up facing vigilante justice. I am not saying that is right, but when something like this happens otherwise normal people may decide to take the law into their own hands. I hope that he ends up getting a prison sentence and prevent any of that from occuring.

And he didn't expect that level of vitirol? Being directly responsible for the death of two children will generally cause you to not be liked.:roll:

I live in Saskatchewan. Back on January 30th, 2008 in Regina (several hours south of
the Yellow Quill Reservation), the Max Temp was -27.5 °C and the Min Temp was
-38.7 °C. The whole Province was in an ugly storm. Now add a 30km/h wind to that
Minimum temperature (this guy misplaced his little girls in individual snow banks in the
night, so near the lower temperature) and it's a Cold that's hard to even imagine
unless you've actually experienced it. Factor a heavy wind-chill onto -38.7 °C and it
was well into the -50's °C that night. Yeah....People out here are unanimously outraged
with the exception of several people on this Yellow Quill Reservation.

This gets uglier. If someone expressed outrage, they where immediately branded a
Racist (I know it sounds farfetched, but it's the honest to God truth).

 

[Praxius]

I flip flop.

Having seen life on reserves, I know how normalized the heavy drinking can be. How many parents grew up with their parents getting drunk off their asses in the evening, so, why think twice about doing it yourself? I end up feeling pity for this man who, to certain ways of my thinking, never really had a chance to live a healthy life. Segregated. Living in a culture of drug and alcohol abuse. I can't stop the pity from pouring out. My heart wants to believe that when this man did what he grew up seeing all the time, tying into his nightly bottle, he had no clue it would take him to where it did.

But then I realize rationally, that's just racism. He deserves no pity from me anymore than any other dad who'd get drunk off his ass and end up doing something this stupid. I've seen enough of Saskatchewan to know they have some pretty extensive outreach programs, that there are constantly workers out there trying to help with these problems, that any person should know better than this.

flip flop. flip flop.

See the whole top paragraph I believe has an impact on the situation and has crossed my mind as well.....

But no matter how crappy your life is or your situation in it, there are very basic common sense things everybody should be aware of..... drunk or not.....

One of those is that you don't take some small children out in the cold night like that without proper protection.

Hell did he suddenly think it was summer or something?

 

[shadowshiv]

I live in Saskatchewan. Back on January 30th, 2008 in Regina (several hours south of
the Yellow Quill Reservation), the Max Temp was -27.5 °C and the Min Temp was
-38.7 °C. The whole Province was in an ugly storm. Now add a 30km/h wind to that
Minimum temperature (this guy misplaced his little girls in individual snow banks in the
night, so near the lower temperature) and it's a Cold that's hard to even imagine
unless you've actually experienced it. Factor a heavy wind-chill onto -38.7 °C and it
was well into the -50's °C that night. Yeah....People out here are unanimously outraged
with the exception of several people on this Yellow Quill Reservation.

This gets uglier. If someone expressed outrage, they where immediately branded a
Racist (I know it sounds farfetched, but it's the honest to God truth).

We are always labelled a racist when we think poorly of something that is done by someone of a different racial/ethnic background. It doesn't matter if they deserve our scorn/anger or not.:roll:

I think he deserves prison not because he is a native, but due to the fact that his children are dead because of his stupidity.

 

[Ron in Regina]

See the whole top paragraph I believe has an impact on the situation and has crossed my mind as well.....

But no matter how crappy your life is or your situation in it, there are very basic common sense things everybody should be aware of..... drunk or not.....

One of those is that you don't take some small children out in the cold night like that without proper protection.

Hell did he suddenly think it was summer or something?

Man. You don't take your kids out in that weather ever unless
1) the Furnace is dead and you can't start it, and...
2) the phones are out, and you can't fit them, and...
3) the house is actually on fire and burning to the ground.

The house was found toasty warm and secure. These people
didn't have a phone (if I remember correctly). Properly dressed
or not, it better be something extremely extreme, or you don't
ever take your kids out in that weather.

 

[shadowshiv]

Man. You don't take your kids out in that weather ever unless
1) the Furnace is dead and you can't start it, and...
2) the phones are out, and you can't fit them, and...
3) the house is actually on fire and burning to the ground.

The house was found toasty warm and secure. These people
didn't have a phone (if I remember correctly). Properly dressed
or not, it better be something extremely extreme, or you don't
ever take your kids out in that weather.

Heck, adults shouldn't even go out in that kind of weather unless it is an absolute emergency! It does not take long for the human body to shut down in those frigid temperatures.

 

[karrie]

Exploring the notion of racism Ron....

Is it more racist to be angry and expect that someone live up to your standards? Or more racist to do like me and pity them based on skin color?

If they're equally racist, and it's inevitable that someone is going to be racist towards me, I'll take your form of racism Ron, over my form. Expecting less of people, pitying them, that's got to be the worst form there is.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Source: Pauchay granted sentencing circle in girls' freezing deaths

Pauchay granted sentencing circle in girls' freezing deaths


TheStarPhoenix.comJanuary 7, 2009 1:03 PM

ROSE VALLEY, Sask. - Christopher Pauchay, a Saskatchewan man whose two young daughters froze to death after he drunkenly dragged them outside on a frigid winter night last year, has been granted an aboriginal sentencing circle in a decision announced Tuesday.

Pauchay is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 27 to decide the composition and schedule of the sentencing circle.

“The Justice Committee at Yellow Quill First Nation has done a significant amount of work in looking at whether or not, from the community’s perspective, a sentencing circle would be appropriate, work that has been of great assistance to the court,” wrote Judge Barry Morgan in his decision.

Morgan cited several criteria that Pauchay had to have met in order for the sentencing circle to have been granted, including “the accused must have deep roots in the community in which the circle is held and from which the participants are drawn” and that “there are elders or respected non-political community leaders willing to participate.”

Pauchay, 25, has lived on the Yellow Quill First Nation for all of his life, with the exception of one year during which he lived in Regina, the sentence noted. Morgan also pointed out that it “is evident there is community willingness and a commitment to support the sentencing circle for Mr. Pauchay.”

According to the decision, the “circle will be held at the Provincial Court facility in Rose Valley, as that location is better suited for court proceedings than the proposed facilities at Yellow Quill First Nation.

“Despite the request made by some members of the community . . . that the sentencing circle be closed to the media, that will not be the case and in fact cannot be the case. That circle will be a sentencing hearing, and is very much a part of the court process, albeit one that is sensitive to the circumstances of the aboriginal offender and his community. Public access to the courts means that closure of the courts can only occur in the rarest of cases (and only in circumstances that are not present in this case).”

Pauchay pleaded guilty in November to criminal negligence causing death.
It was almost a year ago, on Jan. 29, 2008, that an intoxicated Pauchay left his Yellow Quill First Nation home some time after 12:30 a.m., when wind chill values had dipped into the -50 range.

He brought with him daughters Kaydance, 3, and Santana, 16 months, who were dressed only in light T-shirts and diapers despite, the blizzard-like conditions.
Around 5 a.m. local time, Pauchay was found alone and incomprehensible on a neighbour’s doorstep, suffering from hypothermia and frostbite.

He was aggressive, so RCMP went to the house along with paramedics.

Pauchay was sedated and taken to hospital with serious frostbite on his back, front and fingers.

It was not until about eight hours later that it was discovered the girls had been with him.

A frantic door-to-door search began immediately, with RCMP officers checking abandoned buildings and cars but turning up no sign of the girls.

Pauchay said to “check the field,” referring to a patch of ground between neighbouring houses in a cul-de-sac on the reserve.

Santana’s frozen body was found later that day, about 100 metres from the family’s home.

The following day, after a search-and-rescue team joined the effort, Kaydance was found. Her body was about 50 metres away from where her sister had died. Autopsies confirmed both girls died of hypothermia.

Pauchay later told nurses and RCMP officers one of the children had been hurt and he panicked and tried to get to his brother-in-law’s house for help.

Yellow Quill is about 260 kilometres east of Saskatoon.
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Christopher Pauchay and Tracey Jimmy, with their newborn,
leaving Provincial Court in Regina Tuesday after a hearing
regarding a domestic dispute.
Photograph by : Bryan Schlosser, Leader-Post, May 28, 2008

 

[Tyr]

Christopher Pauchay, a Saskatchewan man whose two young daughters froze to death after he drunkenly dragged them outside on a frigid winter night last year, has been granted an aboriginal sentencing circle in a decision announced Tuesday.

That's just crazy. At the very least he should be facing 2 counts of manslaughter in a Canadian Court

 

[shadowshiv]

Remember that vigilante "justice" that I suggested would happen in an earlier post. I have a bad feeling that it will happen, it is just a matter of when.

He should have gotten tried like any other person residing in Canada.:angryfire:

 

[JLM]

If one were to suggest that part of his sentence be that he have a vasectomy, would that be politically incorrect?

 

[Ron in Regina]

Student Handout 2.17 - Sentencing Circles
Source: Student Handout 2.17 - Sentencing Circles

What is a sentencing circle?

A sentencing circle is an attempt to rediscover the traditional Aboriginal method of dealing with members of the community who have broken the law. The circle is made up of the accused, the victim, the families of the accused and the victim, elders and other interested members of the community. A judge and a defence lawyer or prosecutor and/or policeman also sit in the circle.

Once someone sits in the circle, there are no special powers or privileges. Everyone in the circle has the same power, as the circle operates on the basis of consensus. Everyone in the circle must agree as to what to do about the person who has broken the law.

After the circle has reached consensus on sentencing the offender, the judge then steps back into his/her judicial role and may impose the sentence that the circle has recommended.

Who can have a sentencing circle?


Anyone who has broken the law can ask to have a sentencing circle. If the person has pleaded guilty or has been found guilty of a charge by a court, that person may ask the judge to refer him/her to a sentencing circle. The judge will then consider several factors:

• the accused must agree to be referred to the sentencing circle
• the accused must have deep roots in the community in which the circle is held and from which the participants are drawn
• are there Elders or respected non-political community leaders willing to participate
• the victim is willing to participate and has not been subjected to coercion or pressure
• disputed facts have been resolved in advance
• the court is willing to depart from the usual range of sentencing.

What happens at a sentencing circle?

A sentencing circle is usually held in a Band hall, school gym or outdoors. Chairs are arranged in a circle, sometimes an inner and outer circle. A tape recorder is placed in the centre. People take their places in the circle. The judge usually asks one of the elders to say a prayer or perform a sacred Sweet Grass Ceremony. Everyone in the circle has a chance to talk or remain silent. The members of the circle discuss the offender, the crime and the various sentences that may be suitable. The discussion continues until all members agree on a sentence. The judge decides whether the proposed sentence is within the boundaries of the law. If it is, the judge then formally imposes the sentence.

The host community usually tries to make participants feel welcome by providing coffee, milk, lunch and tissues. Transportation is provided for Elders or whoever may need it.

Translation services are also provided if there are any members of the circle who do not understand the language.

The people who form the circle are encouraged to feel free to speak and/or ask questions. Everyone’s view is valued and respected.

Who can organize a sentencing circle?

There are no hard and fast rules. It can be organized by a probation officer, social worker, Band workers or councillors, or an Elder.


Who should sit in a sentencing circle?

• the victim and members of the victim’s family
• the accused and members of his/her family
• Elders or appropriate community professionals
• a chief or councillor from the areas where the victim and accused have resided or where the offence occurred.

What type of sentence can the circle recommend?

The circle may recommend that the offender be sent to jail, be banished to a specific location, be given a period of probation, and/or be asked to do a certain number of hours of community work.

Who will work with the offender?

The circle may ask a volunteer to assume some responsibility for keeping track of the offender. This volunteer may also assist the offender to participate more fully and responsibility in the community.

The contact person may also report to other relevant agencies and, possibly subsequent sentencing circles, on the progress the offender is making.

What is the community’s involvement?

It is absolutely necessary that the community that forms the sentencing circle be willing to assume not only the responsibility for sentencing the offender, but also for follow-up and for support. The community needs to regard this as a strong and long-term commitment.

Will there be growing pains?

It will take time and the experiences of many sentencing circles before the participants and the public at large will have full confidence in this process.

(Source: Native Studies 30. Saskatchewan Education.)
___________________________________________________

 

[Ron in Regina]

This is interesting....this "Christopher Pauchay" guy is being discussed on the
radio (AM 980 CJME) and the Announcer (John Gormley) has just stated that
this "Christopher Pauchay" already has 51 prior convictions, 16 of those being
for failure to comply with court orders.

Regardless of what ever this Sentencing Circle decides, what're the odds that this
guy is going to follow the Sentencing Circle's decisions? In this case, the family of
the Accused and the family of the Victim are one and the same. It'll be interesting
to see just how non-lenient this guys own family will be in deciding his fate...