Maternal family of Zaria McCall speaking out against 5 year sentence

A Red Deer man has been sentenced, for his involvement in the death of his four-month-old daughter last year.

On Tuesday, Julian Thomson, 22, was sentenced to five years in prison for killing his baby daughter, with one to one credit for 10 months he’s already served at the Remand Centre.

The judge overseeing the case, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Earl Wilson, cried when he read his sentence in the Red Deer courtroom, and said it was up to the courts to stand up for the young victim.

“A child should look to their parents for love, safety and protection. To [whom] does a child turn to if the parent is responsible for the crime? It is the court that must speak for Zaria,” Justice Wilson said.

Zaria McCall, who was born on July 27, 2011, succumbed to severe head injuries at the Stollery Children’s Hospital on November 26, 2011.

She died hours after her father, Thomson, shook her violently.

In an agreed statement of facts, Thomson admitted to shaking his daughter, and said she hit her head three times – twice on her ‘Excersaucer’, and once when he threw her to the floor.

According to the statement, when Thomson picked up the infant, her head was moving in a circular motion, and her eyes fluttered before she passed out.

Court heard Thomson told a psychiatrist he was frustrated, angry and felt helpless, and that he shook the baby because she was crying.

The family of the infant’s mother released a statement, speaking out against the sentence that was given to Thomson.

“…We cannot agree with the justice system, that five years is an appropriate sentence for anyone, let alone a parent, that takes the life of an infant that has no ability to defend themselves.”

Thomson turned himself in to RCMP on December 1 – and pleaded guilty to manslaughter although he was initially charged with second degree murder.

Manslaughter has a maximum penalty of life in prison – a sentence handed out to more severe and prolonged cases of abuse.

With files from Serena Mah