An Alberta man convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his step-daughter in 2017 was finally sentenced.
Justin Paul Bennett, now 30, had hit three-year-old Ivy Wick on the head, threw her into a wall, and tripped her, according to Court of King’s Bench documents.
“He did so in a dreadful manner, all the more distressing given that the harm was inflicted upon a vulnerable child of only three years of age,” said Justice D. Blair Nixon in his recent written decision.
Bennett killed Ivy while “freaking out” that she had interrupted his video game.
Bennett started dating Ivy’s mother Helen Woodworth in January 2017 and they moved in together February 2017.
On Sept. 27, 2017, Ivy was found unconscious in her bedroom and taken by ambulance to the Alberta Children’s Hospital. The trauma team determined that she had suffered a traumatic brain injury and she was rushed into emergency neurosurgery. She was later transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit where she was placed on life support. She died on Oct. 5, 2017.
Bennett delayed calling 911. He called his father and a former girlfriend first. When he did call 911, he lied to the healthcare providers about what had happened to Ivy, thereby delaying and frustrating the medical care that the child desperately needed, said Justice Nixon in his Jan. 11, 2024 decision.
“Ivy was a toddler, and fully dependent on her caregivers for her safety and well-being. She was completely vulnerable. The protection of children is one of the most fundamental values of Canadian society. There is an innate power imbalance between children and adults that enables adults to violently victimize them.”
Bennett won’t be eligible to apply for parole for 14 years. He was convicted in March 2021 but his sentencing was delayed several times after he requested a second psychiatric exam and fired two lawyers.
He has been in custody for 1,989 days, which will be deducted from his 14-year parole eligibility.
Bennett was assaulted in jail and had requested that he be allowed to serve, as far as possible, his sentence in either protective custody or isolation.
“While I make no order to this effect, I ask correctional services to take this request into consideration during the exercise of its discretion.,” said Justice Nixon.
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