Dr. Abhaya Kulkarni

The applicant, a daycare provider convicted of manslaughter in the death of a 14-month-old infant and sentenced to six years in prison, applied for bail pending appeal.

The Crown conceded the appeal was not frivolous and the applicant would surrender into custody, but argued detention was necessary in the public interest.

The Court of Appeal assessed the strength of the applicant's grounds of appeal, which included challenges to the trial judge's use of good character evidence and the admission of an unrecorded police statement.

Finding the grounds of appeal to be arguable but weak, and given the extreme seriousness of the offence, the court concluded the applicant failed to establish that her detention was not necessary in the public interest.

The application for bail pending appeal was dismissed.

The accused, a daycare provider, was charged with manslaughter following the death of a 14-month-old child in her care.

The child suffered a severe skull fracture and subdural hematoma.

The court found that the accused momentarily lost her patience and intentionally assaulted the child, causing the fatal injuries.

Alternatively, the court found that the accused failed to provide the necessaries of life by delaying calling 911 for over an hour after observing the child was unresponsive and limp, which significantly contributed to the child's death.

The accused was found guilty of manslaughter.