This story should make everyone absolutely furious, for a bunch of different reasons.
An 8-year-old girl named Nina Napope was killed in 2023 in Edmonton. She suffered terrible, long-term abuse and died from blunt force trauma. Her body was found in a hockey bag.
The woman caring for her, Ashley Rattlesnake, was originally charged with first-degree murder. But the the Crown later agreed to a manslaughter plea deal, meaning they accepted that she caused the death but didn't plan it as murder. WTF?
In February 2026, Rattlesnake was sentenced to 8 years in prison. After credit for time already served, she’ll only serve about 3 years and 9 months more.
The Edmonton Police were very angry about the manslaughter deal. They believed the evidence showed it was murder. For the first time ever, they wrote a strong official letter to the Crown, basically saying "This is a miscarriage of justice." They viewed
the abuse as extreme, and threatened to release all their detailed evidence to the public. They wanted the case to be tied in the court of public opinion.
This was highly unusual. Oolice are not supposed to pressure prosecutors like this.
What actually happened? The Crown did NOT change the manslaughter plea. The deal stayed the same.
The case went to sentencing. The judge was furious at the police for sending that letter. She called their actions “reprehensible” and said it was wrong for police to try to interfere.
Because of the police letter, the judge reduced the sentence by 1 year as a penalty. So the woman actually got a lighter punishment than she might have otherwise.
Now, Alberta’s police watchdog (ASIRT) is investigating the Edmonton Police for their unusual letter and conduct.
Bottom line: the police tried to publicly shame and pressure the Crown to get a harsher charge/sentence, but it backfired. The plea didn’t change, and the sentence was made shorter partly because of what the police did.
Many people are upset that the punishment seems too light for such a brutal crime against a child.
If judges are willing to do this to the police, what hopes do any of us who challenge the system have?
globalnews.ca/news/11900278/…