An Ontario woman who murdered her toddler in 2009 has won a faint-hope hearing, reducing her period of parole ineligibility by four years.
Nadine Bernard of Mississauga was sentenced on Jan. 14, 2011, to life in prison with a parole ineligibility period of 20 years after pleading guilty to the second-degree murder of her 18-month-old son, Jayden Bernard.
After a three-week hearing at the Brampton courthouse, a jury arrived at their verdict on the faint hope application on Jan. 27 after an hour and 40 minutes of deliberations.
The verdict means Bernard, who has been in custody since her arrest on March 27, 2009, can apply for parole now after serving less than 16 years behind bars, instead of waiting for the 20-year mark.
The murder of Jayden shocked the Toronto area 15 years ago. Police were called to the underground parkade of 1 Robert Speck Parkway in Mississauga on March 27, 2009, just before 8 a.m. after Bernard called 911 and reported that her son felt cold and she believed he was dead.
Peel Regional Police arrived on scene minutes later and placed Bernard under arrest for the death of her 18-month-old son.
According to an agreed statement of facts, in 2003, Bernard, who is now 50, was employed in the accounting department at Brinks Canada in Mississauga.
She met Richard Williams, who was also employed at Brinks Canada, and the two began an affair. Williams was married. The affair continued for about four years at the time that Bernard gave birth to their son, the victim, in September 2007.
In June 2008, Williams’ wife discovered that her husband had been unfaithful and learned of the birth of his son with Bernard. After several days, his wife agreed to incorporate the child into their family.
Williams began to introduce the child to his other children and extended family, but Bernard became concerned that he would take boy away from her.
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In October 2008, Bernard informed police that Williams’ wife had left a threatening note on the windshield of her car.
Williams’ wife denied doing so and no charges were laid. By November 2008, Bernard denied the Williams family any access to Jayden.
Williams commenced family court proceedings in December 2008. On March 12, 2009, the parties attended family court and agreed to a schedule where the Williamses had access to Jayden twice a week.
The first visitation was scheduled for March 22, 2009. Williams arrived at the designated time and location but Bernard did not show up with Jayden.
Williams called Bernard’s mother and was informed that she and Jayden were in Buffalo, N.Y., so he notified his lawyer.
Jayden Bernard is shown before his death in 2009.
Contributed
On March 23, 2009, Bernard received a letter indicating that Williams was planning to take her back to court if she was not cooperative with the visitation agreement.
Upon receiving the letter, Bernard became upset, quit her job, and left her workplace. On March 26, 2009, Bernard was to deliver Jayden to Williams as per their previous agreement. She did not do so. Instead, she went to a hardware store in Bolton, Ont., and purchased a 10-foot piece of dishwasher hose and a role of duct tape.
Bernard then drove to Brinks Canada. She entered the underground parking lot around 9:30 am. Surveillance video showed that Bernard had taped and connected the hose between the exhaust pipe and the rear passenger window, where Jayden’s car seat was located.
The vehicle remained in the parking lot until the following morning, March 27, 2009. Around 7:50 a.m., Bernard moved the vehicle, and the hose was no longer attached. She called 911 and informed the operator that she did not know what had happened or how she had gotten to the underground parking lot.
Emergency services arrived and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.
The psychiatric report at the trial concluded that Bernard was suffering from a major depressive episode when she committed the offence.
The report noted that the illness began in the fall of 2008 and became increasingly worse that winter. The report stated that although Bernard’s depressive illness was of a severe nature, it was not of such severity to exculpate her of criminal responsibility.
At the faint hope hearing last month, the jury heard that Bernard is not the same person she was when she committed her crime nearly 16 years ago. Her lawyer Mitchell Huberman said despite the horrific facts of the case, Bernard pleaded guilty taking responsibility for murdering Jayden.
Bernard’s defence lawyer argued that Bernard has done a complete 180 degrees from where she was 16 years ago to today and has been reformed, which is why she should be able to apply for parole today. In the end, the decision will be up to the Parole Board.
Huberman reminded the jury if it’s too soon for her to be released in the community, then the Parole Board can deny her application
“Bernard is ready to enter the community, under supervision, but still progressing through her correctional plan,” Huberman said in his closing address.
“Many saints have a past and many sinners have a future. Ms. Bernard has a future,” he said.
Huberman finished his submissions by telling the jury that Bernard’s actions continue to haunt her to this day and said clemency is appropriate.
“She will be spending the rest of her life trying to honour Jayden by giving back to the community as much as she can and making sure she never falls back into her old mindset,” Huberman said.