REGINA -- A couple convicted in the death of a girl in their care have been sentenced in a Regina court.
Tammy Goforth, who faced an automatic life sentence for second-degree murder, was told she will not be eligible to apply for parole for at least 17 years.
Her husband Kevin Goforth, who was found guilty of manslaughter, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The girls, who can't be identified because of a publication ban, were placed in the Goforths' home in November 2011.
The couple brought the four-year-old to hospital in July 2012 and she was taken off life support a couple of days later.
Her two-year-old sister was also hospitalized, but survived.
The Goforths were also found guilty of unlawfully causing bodily harm in the case of the younger girl.
An agreed statement of facts said the four-year-old died of a brain injury after suffering cardiac arrest. The siblings were severely malnourished, dehydrated and covered in bruises and open sores when they arrived at the hospital.
Court heard during a three-week trial that the couple threw birthday parties for the girls and took them to the park, museums and church.
The defence acknowledged that the girls had lost weight in the weeks before they were hospitalized, but argued they had been sick and Tammy Goforth was trying to nurse them back to health.
Kevin Goforth testified that the children were never denied food. He said supper time at the family's home was important and the girls, who were big eaters, were always part of it.
The Crown said the girls hadn't been fed properly for a prolonged period of time. Anyone could have seen by their gaunt frames that they were wasting away, the prosecutor said.
The couple apologized at their sentencing hearing last month, but relatives of the children shouted that there would be no forgiveness.
