Parole board OK’s supervised community visits in B.C. for Tammy Goforth

A Regina woman sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder in the starvation death of a four-year-old foster child has been granted supervised community visits by the Parole Board of Canada.

In a written decision, the parole board said Tammy Goforth could leave a British Columbia prison with an escort for personal development purposes.

Goforth will be permitted to participate in Indigenous cultural activities. She also can visit a fast food drive-through.

Goforth and her husband, Kevin, were convicted in 2016 in the death of a four-year-old girl and the injury of her two-year-old sister. The children were in the Goforths’ foster care.

Tammy Goforth was convicted of second-degree murder and criminal negligence causing bodily harm and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 17 years.

Kevin Goforth was convicted on charges of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing bodily harm and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, minus time served.

In February of 2021, Saskatchewan’s Court of Appeal allowed Kevin Goforth’s appeal of his initial conviction on the grounds the trial judge had made mistakes in her instructions to the jury.

The Court of Appeal ordered a new trial for Goforth. However, the justices dismissed the appeal of Tammy Goforth.

The Crown appealed the court’s decision regarding Kevin Goforth. Last December, the Supreme Court of Canada restored his manslaughter conviction and sent the case back to the Court of Appeal for consideration of the sentencing appeal.

The four-year-old girl died in August of 2012 after being rushed to hospital; she died after being taken off life support.

According to the trial judge, the girl and her sister hadn’t been fed properly for three to four weeks and the Goforths didn’t seek medical attention for the girls.

— With files from The Canadian Press