Warning: This story contains disturbing details
A B.C. woman who suffocated her eight-year-old daughter using a plastic bag is appealing her prison sentence, leaving the victim's long-suffering family frustrated and afraid.
Lisa Batstone murdered her daughter Teagan back in 2014, and her case has been winding through the courts ever since, a process the child's father said continues to reopen painful emotional wounds.
"How egregious it seems that someone who took the life of a child can have so many opportunities and avenues to try and avoid responsibility," Gabe Batstone told CTV News over the phone on Wednesday.
"It makes it pretty hard to heal."
The mother, who was found guilty of second-degree murder in 2019, has already mounted an unsuccessful appeal of her conviction. The B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed the case is scheduled to return to court again early next month so she can seek a lighter sentence.
Lisa Batstone is currently serving life in prison with no possibility of parole for 15 years. Her ex-husband said he would fear for his family’s safety if the killer's lawyer were to successfully petition for the minimum of 10 years without parole.
"When I think about the seven decades of Teagan's life that she took away, it just seems unfathomable to me that she could be walking free anytime, let alone, you know, just a few years from now," he said.
"I think that's a scary thing. And it presents a risk to our family and to others."
The court heard the Batstones divorced in 2010, when Teagan was two, and that the mother continued to feel "great resentment" toward her ex-husband. After the murder, she left notes around her home with messages that included "you win."
The defence said Lisa Batstone had been dealing with a number of issues, including financial difficulties and mental illness. Her notice of appeal argues the trial judge failed to "treat Ms. Batstone's mental illness as a significant mitigating factor" during sentencing.
The hearing for her appeal is scheduled for May 10.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Maria Weisgarber
