Mother convicted of killing Phoenix Sinclair granted escorted absences from prison

Phoenix Sinclair. (File image)

WARNING: This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing. Discretion is advised.

WINNIPEG — A woman who abused and killed her daughter in one of Manitoba’s most notorious crimes that led to one of the province’s largest public inquiries has been granted renewed and expanded temporary freedoms.

Samantha Kematch and her then-boyfriend, Karl McKay, were convicted in 2008 of first-degree murder in the death of her five-year-old daughter, Phoenix Sinclair. They were both sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years.

The Parole Board of Canada, in a recent decision, granted Kematch 11 family visits, eight with an Indigenous elder and three to an undisclosed community.

Kematch had previously been granted escorted absences in 2022. At that time, she was allowed two family visits and two visits with an elder.

In its decision last month, the Parole Board of Canada said while it can’t ignore the brutality of her crime, it told Kematch it “believes that you have shown observable and measurable changes since the beginning of your incarceration and that you continue to progress.”

At Kematch and McKay’s trial, court heard Phoenix was subjected to repeated abuse that included being confined to an unfinished basement in the family’s home on the Fisher River Cree Nation, north of Winnipeg. The girl was also shot with a BB gun and forced to eat her own vomit.

There were other children in the home who saw the abuse that only Phoenix faced.

After a final, deadly assault, McKay and Kematch wrapped her body in plastic and buried her. The couple continued to collect welfare payments with Phoenix listed as a dependent -- a ruse that was discovered several months later when Kematch tried to pass off another girl as Phoenix.

The board acknowledged Kematch’s “dysfunctional” history, which included the deaths of a parent and a sibling, substance abuse in her home growing up, involvement in the foster-care system, drug and alcohol use, and domestic violence.

“You used unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as alcohol abuse, to try to deal with the pain from your difficult upbringing. The violence and abuse you witnessed and experienced may have led to distorted thinking patterns that minimized the use of violence,” the board said.

“Since the beginning of your incarceration, you have worked with Indigenous staff, including an elder, to reconnect with your culture and spirituality. The board is of the opinion that this is an important protective factor should you choose to continue down this path.”

The report said Kematch has been involved in various programming throughout her sentence, that she presented no significant security concerns and did three random urine tests that came back negative for “intoxicating substances.”

The board also included a victim impact statement from a previous review, where the person vehemently opposed any form of release due to Kematch’s “atrocities.”

Phoenix spent much of her short life in the care of family friends or in the child welfare system. Her death in 2005 -- and the fact that it went undetected for about nine months -- prompted a public inquiry.

The inquiry found social workers failed to keep tabs on Phoenix’s well-being and whereabouts and often closed her file without seeing her.

Social workers also failed to realize the man Kematch started living with in 2004 was McKay, who had a documented history of domestic violence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2025.

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press