This article contains graphic details.
A man in Morely, Alberta, faces up to 10 years in prison after being convicted for the murder of his six-month-old daughter by crushing her skull against a wall, according to the Calgary Herald.
Tyriq Kootenay, 23, was read a statement of agreed facts in court, which detailed how he murdered his daughter, Tanayah Kootenay-Hunter, on Aug. 23, 2021.
The incident took place in his home on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, following a drunken fight that broke out between Kootenay, his girlfriend, Brenna Hunter and another male friend of hers after she called him “a meth head” for doing drugs in the presence of their two infant daughters.
Kootenay beat up Hunter and threw her and her friend out of his bungalow, read prosecutor Geea Atanase, from the statement.
“Hunter could hear the children crying inside,” said Atanase. “Once outside, Kootenay attacked her, but she was able to get away and run to a residence for help.”
The next day, Hunter returned to Kootenay’s home to check on her children but was told by Kootenay that they had been removed from the home by social services and that Tanayah had been brought to the home of Hunter’s grandmother.
Hunter went into the house and found her eldest daughter of 18-months, with what looked like a bloody nose.
On Aug. 25, 2021 RCMP searched Kootenay’s home and found Tanayah’s body in the basement, bundled up in a blanket and stuffed inside a suitcase.
“Her head was caved in at the top, and police noted bruising all over her face,” said Atanase.
RCMP discovered “a dent in the wall that appeared consistent in size and shape with an infant having been thrown against it” in an upstairs bedroom and DNA taken from the wall matched that of Tayanah’s.
Other injuries sustained by the six-month-old baby were fractured arms and ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and a considerable bite on her back, which Kootenay took responsibility for.
In September 2022, Kootenay also admitted to refusing to allow police to enter his home following the fight he had with his girlfriend, in an interview with RCMP.
“At this time, Tanayah was still alive,” said Atanase. Kootenay also admitted that he was “blacked out at times during the evening” due to a large consumption of drugs and alcohol.
The next morning, Kootenay noticed that Tanayah was still breathing next to him in his bed and he told RCMP that he then changed her clothes.
Initially, Kootenay was charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Atanse called the violence inflicted upon Tanayah “gratuitous for the biting of a victim… who was a small six-month-old with no ability to defend herself,” adding that “Mr. Kootenay may well have been angry but the infant certainly didn’t do anything to provoke the act.”
The prosecutor also addressed the fact that Kootenay did not make any attempt to acquire medical attention for his daughter.
The Crown is asking for a 10 year sentence minus time served for Kootnay, who has been in custody since his arrest on Sept. 1, 2021. If granted, Kootenay would have to serve another seven years in prison.
Kootenay’s defence lawyer, David Roper, is asking for an eight-year sentence less time already served. Roper argued that Kootenay’s attempts to conceal his crime were lackluster, as he didn’t remove Tanayah’s body from the house.
Roper also argued that the murder was not premeditated and that Kootenay’s background as a First Nations person and his guilty plea must be considered as mitigating factors in his sentence.
Kootenay’s faced a difficult upbringing regarding his life on the First Nation, such as a number of family deaths due to substance abuse and suicide, argued Roper.
“While the crime committed by Mr. Kootenay is undeniably tragic, it’s important to view his actions through the lens of his history, societal challenges . . . that acknowledges the complexity of his situation,” said Roper.
Kootenay did not address the court at the end of the sentencing hearing. He is scheduled to reappear before Court of King’s Bench Justice Michele Hollins for his sentence on Sept. 25.
