Frances Elaine Campione | |
---|---|
Nationality | Canadian |
Occupation(s) | Nanny and other |
Criminal status | In prison |
Spouse | Ex: Leo Campione |
Children | Serena and Sophia Campione |
Motive | Bitter custody battle |
Conviction(s) | First degree murder (both counts) |
Criminal charge | First degree murder |
Penalty | Life imprisonment |
Details | |
Victims | Serena and Sophia Campione |
Date | October 2, 2006 |
Location(s) | Barrie, Ontario |
Weapon | Bathtub and water |
Frances Elaine Campione [1] is an Ontario woman who murdered her two children in Barrie, Ontario, on October 2, 2006. Canadian prosecutors argued that she wanted to get revenge on her ex-husband and was afraid he would receive custody. [2]
Elaine Campione originated from Coles Island, New Brunswick, living there until she moved to Ontario for work reasons at around age 20. She had attended home support classes at a community college for one year. Christie Blatchford of The Globe and Mail wrote that she had "a normal enough childhood". [3] She went to Ontario to work as a nanny and she had other jobs. [3]
Elaine and then-husband Leo Campione, whom she met in 2000, [3] lived in Bradford, Ontario. The two parties divorced and Leo moved out of the house. [4] The victims, Serena and Sophia, were three years and nineteen months old, respectively, at the time of their deaths. [1]
At the time of the incident, Campione lived with her children in the Coulter Glen Apartments in northern Barrie. [1] Blatchford wrote that Leo and Elaine Campione were "engaged in a nasty divorce and custody battle." [3] Leo accused Campione of giving the girls substandard conditions at her apartment and asked the authorities for more access to the children and the appointment of a children's lawyer about one week before the deaths. Leo stated that there was a "mental health breakdown" on the mother's part. [1]
On October 2, 2006, Campione killed the girls by immersing them in a bathtub in their house, causing them to drown. She filmed a video addressed to her ex-husband with segments before and after her daughters died. Jessica Owen of Village Media described the video as "lengthy". [1] When the drownings were finished, Campione dressed them in pajamas and jewelry, posed them on a bed with objects, and attempted to kill herself. [1]
The Crown (Ontario authorities) charged her with two counts of first degree murder. [5] Mary Cremer served as Campione's lawyer. [3]
The trial took seven weeks. [4] Campione's lawyer argued that she was not guilty by reason of insanity; they did not dispute that she killed the girls. [6] On November 15, 2010, she was convicted. [5] The jury decided that she was guilty as she knew murder was wrong, despite any presence of mental illness. [7] Campione was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 25 years. [6] Leo Campione read a victim impact statement. [4]
Campione filed appeals against her conviction in 2010. [5] In 2015, some of them were denied. [7] In 2019, the Parole Board of Canada allowed her to have escorted absences from prison. [1]
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