Swan Valley couple guilty of neglect after baby twins found with 'inconceivable' injuries on family farm

WARNING: Story contains graphic details.

A man and a woman from western Manitoba have been found guilty on numerous charges after their twin infants were found severely malnourished and on the brink of death almost two years ago.

The couple, who cannot be named due to a publication ban in order to protect the identity of the children, were found guilty during a virtual hearing of the Court of Queen's Bench in Dauphin, Man., on Friday.

"It is inconceivable that any person could see those children and believe that they were healthy and OK," said Justice Sandra Zinchuk in her decision. 

Court was told that social workers were called in July 2019 to the couple's farm in the Swan River Valley — an area of the province along the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border — after concerns were raised by a babysitter.

Two social workers went to the home and found the twins with bruises and scrapes on their bodies, court was told. The children also appeared very thin and malnourished and had visible swelling. 

A doctor at the hospital in Swan River, Man., immediately had the children airlifted to the Children's Hospital in Winnipeg for treatment.

She verbally expressed that she hated the twins, that they were the worst babies ever.- Court of Queen's Bench Justice Sandra Zinchuk

Doctors there found each baby, who were 11 months old at the time, had more than 20 fractures each on their tiny bodies.

"The totality of the circumstances were medically devastating," Zinchuk said of a doctor's testimony at the couple's trial.

"It is rare to see children who present with this degree of malnourishment, rare to see children present with half as many fractures as these twins, and rare for children to present with this degree of head injury.

"Yet in this case, all three were happening in the same children."

One of the babies needed surgery to relieve pressure on their brain, court was told.

The man and woman were charged with two counts each of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and failing to provide the necessaries of life. The woman was also charged with two counts of aggravated assault.

Mother referred to twins as 'little piglets'  

Court was told the twins' mother "treated the twins differently" than her other children.

"She did not provide love and affection to the twins and acknowledged she did not feel the same about them as her other children," Zinchuk said in her decision. "She verbally expressed that she hated the twins, that they were the worst babies ever and that she wished she never had them."

Zinchuk said the woman referred to the twins as "little piglets," often left them outside on the patio while she slept or watched television, or stuffed socks in their mouths to stop them from crying.

The judge said the woman brushed off the concerns of others who knew them by saying that the injuries on the twins were caused by bee stings, or that their weight loss was caused by the fact that they were born prematurely. 

Zinchuk said the mother assured those close to her that the babies were getting regular doctor visits — something the judge said was later determined to be fabricated.

He trusted his spouse and believed her misdirection.- Justice Sandra Zinchuk

Three other children also lived in the home at the time, court was told. 

They testified that while the twins' father "expressed tenderness" toward them, he spent most of the time working outside on the farm, or drinking and doing drugs with their mother.

Court was told that the twins would sometimes be left home alone in the care of a child as young as seven years old — sometimes for days — and that it was the children that could have hurt the babies.

Babies found 'limp and lifeless' 

However, Zinchuk said she found the other children to be credible during their testimony and didn't believe that explanation.

The man, Zinchuk said, claimed that while he was "clearly aware" the twins needed medical care, his partner psychologically controlled him into not doing so.

"He trusted his spouse and believed her misdirection and lies toward the twins and had no reason to not believe her," Zinchuk said.

"He simply did nothing about it."

Others at the trial testified that the babies "looked sick" and were skinny, with their eyes rolling back in their heads.

"They were limp and lifeless," Zinchuk said of the condition the twins were found in by social workers. "It was immediately apparent … that they needed medical attention."

Zinchuk said social workers felt there was a "good risk" that the twins could have died on their way to the hospital.

The couple was found guilty on all charges. The woman's bail was revoked and she must appear at the Swan River RCMP detachment on Monday morning to be detained.

The man remains out of jail on bail, pending sentencing.

Both will be sentenced in April.