Christopher Pauchay swayed from side to side, staring at the wooden floor of the community centre in this tiny Saskatchewan village as he pleaded guilty to criminal negligence in the deaths of his two young daughters.
When Mr. Justice Barry Morgan suggested that Mr. Pauchay take a seat, the accused man appeared disoriented, turning briefly toward a chair but then opting to stand unsteadily as the next stage of his criminal case was decided.
The guilty plea Monday was a last-minute arrangement between Mr. Pauchay's lawyer, Ron Piche, and Crown attorney Marylynne Beaton.
What the two sides could not agree on is the manner of sentencing that is appropriate for someone who, in a drunken haze, took his two lightly dressed children out into a frigid winter night and left them to die in the snow.
Mr. Piche asked Judge Morgan to consider an aboriginal sentencing circle – a traditional form of justice that brings together the offender, victims, family members, community elders and court officials to decide on the best response to the crime.
Ms. Beaton said the Crown would not support the proposal.
Judge Morgan will have to determine whether a sentencing circle is the right way to go and will return to the makeshift courtroom of folding tables and plastic chairs to render his decision on Dec. 5.
In the meantime, the loss of the two little girls – 15-month-old Santana and three-year-old Kaydence – continues to haunt the people of Mr. Pauchay's Yellow Quill First Nation, perhaps none more so than Mr. Pauchay himself.
The bulky black winter coat that the 24-year-old wore to his court appearance Monday did nothing to hide his nervous demeanour, and he vanished quickly into the bowels of the community centre when it was over.
But his uncle, Michael Pauchay, who talked to him after the hearing, told reporters his nephew was crying and is prepared to accept what comes.
“He has to face the truth. He can't deny justice to his babies,” Michael Pauchay said.
As for the notion of a sentencing circle, the uncle said is it a good idea. “We have to stick together and we can't forget about those babies,” he said. “They are the bottom line.”
Mr. Piche, who also spoke to reporters after the hearing, said Mr. Pauchay's obvious distress as he was pleading guilty is the main reason he is asking for a sentencing circle.
“Just the process of entering a plea was traumatic for him,” the lawyer said. “So I think at the end of the day, it was his call. And I think he made the right call.”
A sentencing circle would not require Mr. Pauchay to sit in a courtroom and hear all of the evidence about what happened on the night last January when his children died, Mr. Piche said.
Both the Crown and the defence agree on the basic facts of the case.
Mr. Pauchay had been drinking heavily, and his 21-year-old wife, Tracy, stormed out of the house during a heated argument, leaving him alone with the children.
Just after midnight, something happened to one of the girls.
“He recalls one of his daughters having fallen and injuring herself and that was his motivation for leaving the residence that night,” Mr. Piche said. “This was his motive. He was operating out of concern for his daughter. Of course, that's not a defence.”
Mr. Pauchay gathered up the children, who were wearing nothing more than T-shirts and diapers, and carried them out into the –50-degree night. He was apparently headed to his sister's house for help but never made it.
A neighbour eventually found him clawing at her door, his hands severely frostbitten. The girls were no longer with him.
He was taken to hospital and, only eight hours later, when he could finally communicate, did anyone realize his daughters were out in the snow. Santana's body was found later that day. It took 24 hours to find Kaydence.
Mr. Pauchay was “a doting father, a loving father,” Mr. Piche said.
“These girls were otherwise very healthy, and the combination of alcohol and some bad decisions resulted in the plea that you heard today.”
The sentencing circle does not preclude a jail term, which could be as long as five years. The final decision will rest in the hands of the judge. But Mr. Piche will be asking for a conditional sentence that would allow Mr. Pauchay to avoid jail time.
“There's a part of the public out there who says hang him at dawn because he has committed a crime and two people lost their lives,” he said.
“There is another contingent out there, I would say the majority, who say he's suffered enough. He made a tragic mistake. It did indeed cost him the lives of his young girls, but he's paid for that. He'll pay for it the rest of his life.”
Several of the community members who attended the hearing said they agreed that a sentencing circle was the right option.
Marilyn Gilbert, justice co-ordinator at the Yellow Quill Health Centre, said it would help not only Mr. Pauchay, but the community as a whole.
“I think if we had a sentencing circle, a healing circle, that would highlight that we do have a problem. The people who are still drinking are in denial,” Ms. Gilbert said.
“The community will be able to come out and because of the sentencing circle, or healing circle, you will get to say what you feel. And in that way people will be able to release some of their anxieties.
