Top court ups manslaughter conviction to murder in Edmonton girl’s sex slaying

The country’s top court has struck down a manslaughter conviction in a notorious Edmonton sex killing and found a young woman guilty of first-degree murder.

The Supreme Court of Canada was unanimous Friday in boosting the conviction against Stephanie Rosa Bird for the sex slaying of Nina Courtepatte.

Nina’s mother, Peacha Atkinson, who sat through Bird’s trial as well as those of others accused in the case, welcomed the news.

“We’re going to have a good Christmas. Nina’s going to have a good Christmas and justice is served,” she said from her Edmonton home, where the phone was already ringing first thing Friday morning with calls from supporters.

“I’ve been kind of low for Christmas, but I got good news today so that kind of brings me up a bit.”

Bird’s case will now be returned to the original trial judge for a new sentencing.

If sentenced again as an adult, Bird – who was 17 at the time of the April 2005 killing – faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole eligibility for 10 years.

Bird was originally convicted as a young offender, but was sentenced as an adult. She was named in court documents.

Nina was just 13 when she was raped and beaten to death.

Bird was one of five people charged with luring the girl to her death with the promise of a bush party on a golf course west of Edmonton on April 3, 2005.

Nina and a friend got into a car driven by Michael Briscoe. Bird, Joseph Laboucan and two others, who were under-aged and so cannot be named, were also in the car.

The court record shows Bird hit Courtepatte with a wrench as they were walking down a gravel path and onto a fairway. Courtepatte was then pinned to the ground and sexually assaulted.

Evidence showed Bird held Courtepatte down briefly before leaving with Nina’s friend and returning to the car.

After Bird left, Courtepatte was beaten to death. Five participants – Bird, Laboucan, Briscoe and the two who can’t be named – were charged with first-degree murder, aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping.

Bird was acquitted of first-degree murder, but convicted of the included offence of manslaughter. She was also convicted of aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping.

The prosecution appealed, contending the trial judge erred in finding “an air of reality to the defence of abandonment,” meaning Bird had decided she no longer wanted to be involved.

A majority of Alberta’s Appeal Court judges supported the defence and dismissed the appeal.

One judge, J.A. Costigan, found the abandonment defence lacked evidence and said he would have set aside the manslaughter conviction and substituted a conviction for first-degree murder.