A grieving father says his “life will never be the same” after his daughter was found dead in the trunk of a car in Surrey, B.C. this week. The girl’s mother has been charged with second-degree murder.
Police discovered the lifeless body of Teagan Batstone, age 8, in the trunk of a car left in a ditch in a south Surrey neighbourhood shortly after noon local time on Wednesday.
Local resident Joan Cook said a woman showed up at her neighbour’s house, asking her to call police.
“She came to her door and told her to call 911, her baby was dead,” Joan Cook told reporters.
On Thursday and Friday, the child’s father took to Twitter to mourn his daughter, posting photographs of Teagan, as well as her two brothers.
“Life will never be the same after losing my daughter,” Gabe Batstone wrote, adding that “our family courts and thus we all failed.”
In other tweets, Batstone said his daughter “was adored by her brothers,” and also issued pleas for family law reform.
He tweeted his call for reform at several federal government ministers, including Justice Minister Peter MacKay.
Batstone, who lives in Ottawa, also tweeted a video of his daughter that is posted to the website of a campaign that encourages father-daughter support, fathersempoweringdaughters.org.
In an interview with CTV News, Batstone said she would not have wanted him to be overcome with grief.
"Nothing would make her scold me more than to think that I’m wallowing in sorrow, or she caused me to be sad, and she would think she caused this. So for her I need to be strong, I need to rebound," he said.
Instead, Batstone says he will focus on ensuring she leaves the legacy she deserves.
"Teagan was a child that should be known by all Canadians, but not for this reason, " he said. "We owe her, as Canadians, to move forward and protect other kids and make sure we’re able to ensure that situations like this don’t occur."
Meanwhile, staff at the little girl’s elementary school called in grief counsellors for teachers and students and postponed a Christmas concert as they come to terms with the child’s death.
“It’s a horrible situation,” Doug Strachan of the Surrey School District told CTV Vancouver.
“It’s a very traumatic experience for everybody, and it takes some time to deal with.”
Meanwhile, Lisa Batstone, 41, cried during her first court appearance on Thursday. Her lawyers asked that she be seen by both a doctor and a psychiatrist while she is in custody.
Her next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 18.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Maria Weisgarber
