Mom still cries over newborn's abduction from Sudbury hospital

[crystals]

Tue Apr 29, 8:03 PM

A mother whose day-old baby was abducted from a northern Ontario hospital last fall says she is still devastated by the incident and can't even pass the hospital without crying.

The woman, who cannot be identified due to a publication ban, testified Tuesday at the sentencing hearing for the woman convicted in the case, Brenda Batisse.

Batisse has pleaded guilty to abduction after snatching the baby girl from the maternity ward of a hospital in the city of Sudbury on Nov. 1, 2007.

News of the abduction quickly made headlines across the country when the police issued a nationwide Amber Alert. Seven hours later, investigators tracked down Batisse and the unharmed infant in Kirkland Lake, a town about 300 kilometres north of Sudbury.

The case led to a full-scale review of security at hospitals across northeastern Ontario.

In a Sudbury court on Tuesday, the infant's mother broke down several times as she described how Batisse, who was reportedly wearing hospital scrubs at the time, came into her room and tried to weigh the infant. Batisse then made off with the baby while the mother was in the washroom, the mother said.

"She insisted on taking the baby. Then she wanted to weigh my baby," the mother said. "She told me I was bleeding and I should go to the washroom."

Doesn't trust anyone with her child

The mother said she became distraught when she realized no one knew where the infant was.

A short time later police issued an Amber Alert, setting up roadblocks around the city and circulating Batisse's image to media outlets.

The infant's mother recalled how it seemed "like a movie" as she watched from her third-floor hospital window while people below searched through dumpsters and garbage cans for her child.

Even now, she said, she breaks down in tears when she drives by the Sudbury Regional Hospital.

"I always avoid the road, because I always cry because of the memories," she told the court.

She said she also has trouble sleeping and can't bring herself to get a babysitter because she doesn't trust anyone.

The abduction has driven both her and her husband to be overprotective of their children, she told the court.

In one of the few questions posed by defence lawyer Burke Kearney, he asked whether the mother had read an apology letter written by Batisse.

Batisse's letter was written late last November and submitted in court by her lawyer.

"There are not any words about how to tell you how sorry I am," it says. "My intentions were never to hurt anyone ... but just to make my family whole again."

The mother responded that she'd only read it in the newspaper.

Batisse's daughters testify

Batisse's two daughters - Isabella, 8, and Emily, 5 - testified in court about their mother.

"I know what my mom did was bad but everything that happened when she was little was bad ... but she's my mom and takes care of me," Isabella said.

Unconfirmed reports from police and family members suggested Batisse had been pregnant and lost the baby shortly before the abduction.

Batisse's sentencing hearing is set to continue at a later date, which Judge Robbie Gordon will announce on Friday.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/08042..._batisse_court

[catlover79]

What a horrible experience. God bless this family.

[Ireneparalegal]

I can't even imagine the thought of what that must feel like. I am protective of my son, but I can't imagine how I would be if I had my child abducted. I would probably be like her and never trust anyone with my child. I would never want to leave his sight.

[Hollow]

way to **** up the lady's motherhood.

[*ClassicPinUp*]

No wonder so many women are opting to give birth at home or they're leaving the hospital only a few hours after giving birth! I know one thing after reading about this -as well as 3 or 4 other stories of hospital kidnappings in the past few months- when I have a baby he/she will NOT be leaving my sight and no nurse or doctor will be taking them anywhere without me or my husband right behind them.

I feel so bad for that poor woman and her husband. Hospitals need to up the security (especially the labor/delivery floor) a great deal.

[Janice]

I've posted this before but my adult nephew made sure he could sleep in a bed next to his wife after she had their two babies. Not only that, he insisted that the baby sleep with them. When the child had to leave the room with a nurse, he asked to see their IDs, and accompanied them wherever they went. She had c-sections, so she had to stay in the hospital for three days. The infants never left their sight for one single instant, and I'm not exaggerating.

I noticed in this article that the Amber Alert was used, in Canada. I'm glad it's being used in other countries. It's saved so many lives, but poor Amber had to die for the wake-up call.

[*ClassicPinUp*]

Originally Posted by Janice

I've posted this before but my adult nephew made sure he could sleep in a bed next to his wife after she had their two babies. Not only that, he insisted that the baby sleep with them. When the child had to leave the room with a nurse, he asked to see their IDs, and accompanied them wherever they went. She had c-sections, so she had to stay in the hospital for three days. The infants never left their sight for one single instant, and I'm not exaggerating.

Very smart people! That sounds exactly like what I'll do when I have babies (I've always said my newborn would not be sleeping in any nursery but with me and my husband in the room). It's just to dangerous these days NOT to do these things.

Originally Posted by Janice

I noticed in this article that the Amber Alert was used, in Canada. I'm glad it's being used in other countries. It's saved so many lives, but poor Amber had to die for the wake-up call.

It is so sad about Amber. I saw a movie coming on about her a while back but didn't have the chance to watch it.

[InspectorExstead]

Originally Posted by Janice

I've posted this before but my adult nephew made sure he could sleep in a bed next to his wife after she had their two babies. Not only that, he insisted that the baby sleep with them. When the child had to leave the room with a nurse, he asked to see their IDs, and accompanied them wherever they went. She had c-sections, so she had to stay in the hospital for three days. The infants never left their sight for one single instant, and I'm not exaggerating.

I noticed in this article that the Amber Alert was used, in Canada. I'm glad it's being used in other countries. It's saved so many lives, but poor Amber had to die for the wake-up call.

with everything that's happened lately, your nephew & his wife do not sound paranoid at all. they sound like two very smart people who understand the risks & made sure nothing happened to their child.

having your child be abducted is a horrible thing that no mother should experience. the guilt, anger and fear is horrible to live with & it is very understandable that this mother is still devastated. i'm sure she will be for a very long time.

[Crimson and Clover]

[QUOTE=Janice]I've posted this before but my adult nephew made sure he could sleep in a bed next to his wife after she had their two babies. Not only that, he insisted that the baby sleep with them. When the child had to leave the room with a nurse, he asked to see their IDs, and accompanied them wherever they went. She had c-sections, so she had to stay in the hospital for three days. The infants never left their sight for one single instant, and I'm not exaggerating.

[QUOTE]

When I had Lor and Lillian they both were always by our sides. Our hospital puts security anklets on the babies right when they are born. So if they go past a certain area the doors lock and elevators shut down.