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Saskatchewan’s highest court has upheld the conviction of a foster parent who was found guilty of starving to death a girl in her care and abusing the girl’s sister but has ordered a new trial for the woman’s husband.

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal released its decision Tuesday on the appeals of Tammy and Kevin Goforth, which were heard in January 2019.

The three judges unanimously upheld the conviction and sentence for Tammy Goforth, but in a split 2-1 decision ordered a new trial for her husband.

In 2016, Tammy Goforth was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of the four-year-old girl and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years. Kevin Goforth was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years.

Both were also found guilty of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

The girls in foster care were rushed to hospital in 2012 and found to be severely malnourished, dehydrated and covered with bruises. The four-year-old died of a brain injury following cardiac arrest and her sister, who was two at the time, survived.

They had been in the Goforth’s care for nine months.

The Court of Appeal called the evidence of prolonged neglect and starvation of the children “extremely disturbing.”

The couple appealed their homicide convictions and sentences, but only Kevin Goforth appealed the bodily harm charge.

In her appeal, Tammy Goforth argued her murder verdict was inconsistent with her husband’s manslaughter conviction and that there was “no rational basis upon which the two verdicts can be reconciled.”

She also said evidence against her in the trial was “virtually identical” to the evidence the Crown had tendered against her husband.

But the judges called the claim unreasonable, adding that the Court of Appeal “may not interfere with a jury verdict on the ground that it is inconsistent unless the appellant persuades the court that no reasonable jury, whose members have applied their minds to the evidence, could have arrived at that verdict.”

They also said evidence against each of the Goforths wasn’t similar.

“The Crown’s case against Ms. Goforth on the charge of murder was stronger than the case it brought to bear against Mr. Goforth on that charge,” the Court of Appeal said.

“In particular, the evidence in respect of Ms. Goforth’s knowledge of the circumstances was not the same as it was in respect of Mr. Goforth’s knowledge.”

The judges noted that Tammy Goforth was the primary caregiver of the girls, managed the day-to-day undertakings in the household and dealt with social workers.

“Ms. Goforth testified she had been providing food to the children and had not deprived them of sustenance. She told Mr. Goforth the children were just sick. It was primarily her decision not to seek medical care for the children,” the decision said.

Kevin Goforth, on the other hand, testified that he worked out of the home six days a week, leaving before the children arose and returning an hour or so before their bedtime.

“He denied seeing the children without their clothes on. He stated he had not seen their injuries, but that Ms. Goforth had told him about them,” the court said.

“He said he believed his spouse when she told him the children were just sick and he claimed to have had no direct knowledge of their health problems.”

Two of the Court of Appeal judges found that the trial judge erred in her jury instructions regarding the husband and the basis on which jurors could find he had failed to provide the necessaries of life to the child.

“There is a reasonable possibility that the errors we have identified in the charge may have misled the jury,” the judges wrote in their majority decision.

“It cannot be said that the outcome of the trial on the charges against Mr. Goforth would necessarily have been the same if these errors had not occurred.”

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