Edmonton, Alberta, canada

[Sher]

Trial begins in killing that haunted Edmonton


Canadian Press


May 8, 2005








EDMONTON (CP) - The memory of a crime that has haunted Edmonton for more than a decade will return Monday when the trial begins for a man charged with the sex slaying of a six-year-old girl.

Corrine (Punky) Gustavson was snatched from her front yard Sept. 6, 1992. Her body was found two days later in an isolated trucking yard outside the city. She had been sexually assaulted and smothered.

The brutality of the crime transfixed and horrified the city. Intense media coverage followed, including a feature report on the American TV series Unsolved Mysteries.

For a while, the little's girl picture, with her bright smile and the spiky hair that was the source of her nickname, became almost as familiar to many Edmontonians as pictures of their own children. She became, and still is, known simply as Punky.

A team of detectives embarked on the largest and longest investigation in Edmonton police history. Over the years, they combed through more than 5,100 tips, seemingly without result.

But the memory of Corinne's death never left the Alberta capital. Although most of the tips came in soon after the little girl's tragic death, police were still getting occasional calls up to a few months before they made an arrest.

Nor did police forget the little girl. Detective Terry Alm, who spent more than a third of his 26-year career as the primary investigator in the case, stayed with it even after he retired in 2002.

On March 14, 2003, police arrested Clifford Sleigh, 42, and charged him with first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault.

His arrest was based in part on a tip generated almost 10 years before by an unrelated police investigation.

"This is by far the best day I've had in over a decade," said Alm at the time.

Punky's mother had kept hoping that police would make an arrest.

"Every day I thought that this would be the day that the phone would ring," said Karen Vallette. "And it happened."

The family has kept Corinne's memory alive with regular visits to her grave.

Last week, lawyers sifted through an initial call-out of 1,000 jurors, the largest in Canada since the trial of Paul Bernardo in 1995.

Sleigh sat impassively and watched as potential jurors were asked, one by one, if they had read any reports on the case, watched any TV coverage, or signed any petitions.

Candidates were also questioned on their attitudes towards aboriginals. They were asked if they believed natives were more likely to lie, drink, or be violent.

After three days, lawyers decided on seven men and five women, all white and middle-aged.

Justice Terrance Clackson told the jury that Corinne was white and Sleigh is aboriginal.

[Sher]

In a startling beginning to a long-awaited Edmonton trial, Clifford Sleigh yesterday admitted to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing Corinne (Punky) Gustavson.

However, the 42-year-old denied planning the September 1992 slaying or endangering the six-year-old girl's life when he sexually assaulted her.

The Court of Queen's Bench case, heavily attended by media and members of Gustavson's family, started with Sleigh being arraigned on the charges before the jury.

With defence lawyer Peter Royal's assistance, Sleigh pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, but guilty to the lesser and included offence of manslaughter, guilty to kidnapping and not guilty to aggravated sexual assault.

Crown prosecutor Jason Track immediately rejected Sleigh's guilty plea on the manslaughter charge.

"The Crown does not accept the plea and will proceed on the charge of first-degree murder," said Track.

In his opening address, the prosecutor told the seven-man, five-woman jury that the case "really turns" on the charge of murder and explained there are two separate elements in a charge of first-degree murder in Canada.

The first is the common definition involving a "planned and deliberate" killing - such as hiring a hit man to rub out an enemy.

The second is what is called "constructive" first-degree murder where, irrespective of planning, the killing is caused while committing crimes such as hijacking, hostage-taking or aggravated sexual assault.

"It is the Crown's theory that it is a constructive first-degree murder case, not a planned and deliberated one," said Track.

The prosecutor then read into the record a six-page statement of agreed facts in which Sleigh admits to abducting Gustavson while she was playing with a five-year-old friend in front of her home at 149 Rundle Park Village about 10 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6, 1992.

"Sleigh admits that he chose Gustavson only because she was the closest to the fence that the two girls were playing in front of," say the agreed facts.

Track told the jury the other girl, Lindsay Moosewah, now 18, is slated to testify at the trial that she told police a "native man" had taken Punky.

Sleigh then put Gustavson into his brother-in-law's 1988 Chrysler Daytona, which he had taken without permission, and drove off to an undetermined area where he sexually assaulted the girl, according to the agreed facts.

After the sex attack, Sleigh left Gustavson in a Sherwood Park trucking yard at 2133 84 Ave., where her body was found lying on the ground between two truck trailers around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 1992, according to the agreed facts.

Track told jurors they will hear from Gustavson's mother, Karen Vallette, that she last saw her daughter that morning after giving her a $2 bill from some bingo winnings and telling her that they would go shopping later.

The girl's father, Ray Gustavson, is slated to testify he last saw her while she was playing in the back alley with Moosewah, and was so distracted when he was told someone had taken her that he ran outside in his socks.

A medical examiner is slated to testify today that Gustavson was discovered with her clothing on, and the cause of death was smothering. He is also expected to say a contributing factor in her death was "blunt force genital trauma."

[Sher]

Grim faces, tears and expressions of disgust were the order of the day as disturbing testimony was heard yesterday at the kidnapping-sex killing trial of Clifford Sleigh.

The jury heard that six-year-old Corrine (Punky) Gustavson was likely smothered to death after a horrific sexual assault in which the injuries were so severe that a sexual abuse expert testified it might have been done with a fist.

"I would call the lacerations to the girl thingy extremely serious injuries," said Dr. Marlene Lidkea, who has done more than 2,000 examinations of child sex-abuse victims.

"I've never seen injuries this extensive ever in a sexual-assault victim," said Lidkea, adding the extent of the injuries are inconsistent with penetration by an erect adult male thingy or with a single penetration.

The St. Albert doctor testified the object used was larger than a thingy and suggested "perhaps a fist."

As Alberta chief medical examiner Dr. Graeme Dowling gave evidence about the injuries found during the autopsy to Gustavson's genitalia, a female juror began crying and some of the victim's family left the courtroom.

Dowling testified he determined the cause of death to be smothering, although he said he couldn't be certain, and added the genital injuries were a contributing cause.

"The thing that makes the most sense to me is smothering," said Dowling, explaining it is difficult to prove.

The chief medical examiner told jurors the slain child was found with her arms not in her jacket sleeves, her pants on backwards and her underwear rolled in a thin line with both her legs going through one leg hole.

He also testified he had a "feeling" Gustavson was sexually assaulted and killed at one location before her body was dumped at the trucking yard where she was found.

Under cross-examination, Dowling admitted there is a possibility Gustavson was "scared to death" or died from a rare condition called carotid sinus stimulation where a person's heart can stop with pressure on the neck.

"The possibility might be there, but not a strong one," said Dowling. "In my business, you never say never."

The medical examiner also said the unlikely theories were inconsistent with Sleigh's claim to police that he had left Gustavson still alive at the trucking yard.

Punky's parents, Karen Vallette and Ray Gustavson, both testified about the last time they saw their daughter alive.

Vallette began sobbing after telling jurors about getting a call from her husband about Punky being abducted.

Gustavson testified he was watching his daughter play outside with a friend and in a two-minute span when he went to get his coffee and cigarettes from another room, "all of a sudden she disappeared."

After hearing from the friend's mother that Punky had been "taken," Gustavson ran outside with only socks on his feet, and searched their housing complex in vain.

Sleigh, 42, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping in the 1992 crime.

[Sher]

The family of a teen Tasered repeatedly by the cop son of ex-police chief Bob Wasylyshen say they are disgusted there will be no criminal prosecution - despite a judge labelling the incident "cruel and unusual."

Chief Crown prosecutor for Calgary Gordon Wong said yesterday that he and two of his colleagues believe Const. Mike Wasylyshen was justified in his use of a Taser on 16-year-old Randy Fryingpan in October 2002.

The decision angers Fryingpan's family.

"I am angry about what they have done to my son and nothing is going to happen to them," said Fryingpan's mother Marilyn. "He doesn't seem to have a life anymore and is scared to go outside. He is badly depressed."

Judge Jack Easton halted Fryingpan's prosecution for breaching bail in February this year after concluding Wasylyshen had unnecessarily used his Taser to wake the teen up after he was found sleeping in a car near Abbotsfield Road.

Easton, in issuing a judicial stay, accepted Fryingpan had been with three other youths drinking malt liquor and smoking marijuana, but the teen was passed out when Wasylyshen Tasered him. He said Wasylyshen Tasered the crying youth at least five times more as he hauled him from the vehicle. "That, in my conclusion, is abuse of force and cruel and unusual treatment," he said in his written judgment.

He rejected claims Fryingpan was fighting Wasylyshen.

But Wong said yesterday he and two other Calgary prosecutors have determined there was insufficient evidence against Wasylyshen.

"A judge, when considering a judicial stay based on a charter violation, only needs to be satisfied on a balance of probabilities," he explained.

"The Crown prosecutors who reviewed this file were not satisfied that they could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that excessive force was used."

He noted inconsistencies in witness statements and that Fryingpan himself had little recollection of the incident.

But the prosecutors said there was credible evidence that Wasylyshen was concerned about his safety and was involved in a struggle with Fryingpan.

Wong said his team has already recommended charges against three Edmonton-area police officers - two from the city and one from Morinville - for inappropriate use of a Taser. "We have no interest in protecting the police from charges where the facts warrant them," he said.

He had no concerns that the investigation had been conducted by city police themselves, not an outside body.

The Edmonton Police Service declined comment because the internal affairs investigation into the incident has been reactivated. The investigation was put on hold until the Crown prosecutors made their decision.

Vern Grainger, who took Fryingpan, now 19, to see a doctor, said he and the medic counted 21 Taser marks on the teen's body. "I don't think justice has been done so far and I don't think it will be," said Grainger.

[Sher]

Lindsay Moosewah-Knott, 18, cried yesterday as she recalled the terror of being five and seeing her friend, Corrine (Punky) Gustavson, abducted by a "bogeyman."

Moosewah-Knott, her three-year-old brother Travis and six-year-old Gustavson were playing by their Rundle Park Village homes about 10 a.m. on Sept. 6, 1992, when Clifford Sleigh showed up to unleash his evil nightmare.

"I turned around and I seen this guy coming around the corner. I saw him and turned around and grabbed my brother by the head and the neck and I was telling Punky to come here," said Moosewah-Knott, starting to cry.

"I told her to come to me and she looked at me like 'what are you talking about?' and then the guy grabbed her around the mouth and the abdomen and he carried her off and walked down the pathway," she testified.

The teen said she ran home with her brother and told her mother, Katherine Descheneaux, that someone had taken Gustavson away and she didn't know who he was.

"I told my mom that a bogeyman took her, a murderer took her and she called the cops," said Moosewah-Knott.

Descheneaux took the witness stand next and told the jury her "scared" daughter had run up with her brother in tow and repeatedly said "a murderer took Corrine."

The jury also heard brief testimony from Chasity McKay, who lived in Lodgepole at the time of the slaying with her mother, Gail Smith, her brother and her mother's then-common-law spouse, Sleigh.

McKay testified Sleigh wore baseball cleats the way most people wear typical shoes.

Sleigh, 42, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault.

On Monday, Sleigh pleaded guilty to kidnapping. He tried to plead guilty to manslaughter, but the Crown refused to accept it and is proceeding on the murder charge.

According to agreed facts, Sleigh admits abducting Gustavson, putting her in his brother-in-law's car, which he had taken without permission, and driving off to an undetermined area where he sexually assaulted the girl.

After the sex attack, Sleigh left her in a Sherwood Park trucking yard at 2133 84 Ave., where her body was found lying on the ground between two truck trailers about 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 1992.

"Sleigh admits that he chose Gustavson only because she was the closest to the fence that the two girls were playing in front of," say the agreed facts.

On Thursday, the jury heard Gustavson was likely smothered to death after a horrific sexual assault in which the injuries were so severe that a sexual- abuse expert testified it might have been done with a fist.

Court heard the slain child was found with her jacket slightly askew and her arms not in the sleeves, her pants on backwards and her underwear rolled in a thin line with both her legs going through one leg hole.

There were also tire marks found nearby and footprints with tread marks common to baseball cleats.

Court also heard evidence that Gustavson was likely sexually assaulted and killed at a different location and her body was then dumped at the trucking yard.

[Sher]

An Edmonton woman convicted of dangerous driving causing death for fatally mowing over a pedestrian in a Whyte Avenue crosswalk avoided jail yesterday.

Fonda Johnston, 43, was handed a two-year conditional sentence to be served in the community and ordered to remain under house arrest for the first 12 months.

Provincial court Judge Clayton Spence told Johnston he was "reluctant" to give her a conditional sentence, but was bound by legal precedents.

The judge also told Johnston the loss of her Costco job was "a small price to pay" compared to the loss of the life of victim Geoffrey Ramey, 31.

"No matter what sentence the court gives, it will not alleviate in any way the loss and pain of Geoffrey Ramey's death by his family and friends," said Spence.

The judge said he was "at a loss" as to why Johnston drove in such a dangerous manner on the night of the death, but accepted she is very remorseful.

"I am comfortable saying she is not a threat to the community," said Spence, adding he was sure Johnston will be psychologically scarred for her entire life and urging her to undergo counselling.

Johnston was also ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and banned from driving for five years.

Outside court, Ramey's parents said they would have preferred Johnston being jailed, but acknowledged nothing will change the fact that their son is dead.

Jennifer Pritchard described the court process as being "long and gruelling and emotionally traumatic."

Ramey was in a marked crosswalk at Whyte Avenue and 106 Street about 1:20 a.m. on Sept. 14, 2003, when he was hit by Johnston's pickup truck. He was carried for about 15 metres and then run over.

When Spence convicted Johnston, he blamed the tragic death on her "excessive" speed and inattentive driving.

Johnston changed lanes just before the collision and the judge ruled she failed to slow down or look ahead to the crosswalk to see the pedestrians and stopped cars.

She was also charged with drunk-driving charges, but they were dismissed after Spence threw out her breathalyser sample and an incriminatory statement she made because police failed to read out her legal rights.

Johnston testified she only drank two beers.

[Sher]

The last terrifying moments of Corrine (Punky) Gustavson's short life were detailed yesterday as a jury watched her killer's videotaped confession to police.

In a rambling, four-hour interview beginning on March 13, 2003, at Bowden Institution, Clifford Sleigh revealed how he kidnapped and raped the six-year-old on Sept. 6, 1992.

Sleigh said he'd been drinking all night with relatives and left the following morning to buy cigarettes in his brother-in-law's car. After drinking more with some strangers, he said, he ended up in a townhouse complex parking lot.

"I was gonna turn around and leave, but ... I seen ah, these two little girls playing in this, ah, fenced area," said Sleigh.

"I guess in that short time I, ah, I had made up my mind that I was gonna grab one of them. And it just, it happened to be, ah, the one closest to the fence."

Sleigh told homicide Det. Ralph Godfrey he picked Punky up, carried her to his car, put her in and drove away. He said he had no plan and began to question what he was doing, but felt angry and wanted to punish somebody.

"And I just wanted to drive as far as I could on this road, drop her off and just leave. But, when I realized there was no traffic in this area, it seemed very secluded, you know I just took it upon myself to ... I guess, have sex with her, you know ... you wanna use the terminology to rape her."

Sleigh said he took Gustavson from the car after the sex attack and left her on the rear of a tractor-trailer with her underwear over her eyes so she couldn't identify him.

Sleigh denied intentionally killing Gustavson, saying she was sitting sideways on the flatbed trailer when he drove off, and was very surprised to learn she had died.

"I mean I had a hard time doing what I, you know, bringing myself to do what I did, you know. But, ah, killing was not a thought. So when I heard about it, ah, you know, I guess you could almost say I'm still in shock a little bit."

Sleigh said the girl never said a word when he snatched her, but admitted he might have covered her mouth.

As they drove away, she asked where he was taking her.

"And you know if I recall right, I ... I just ignored her. I didn't answer her. There wasn't a conversation. Ah, I didn't say nothing to her and she had just gone quiet."

Sleigh told Godfrey he raped the girl from behind in the front seat of the car after lifting up her dress. "She didn't say anything ... she started crying. And so I told her not to cry."

Sleigh told Godfrey he had wanted to spill his guts about the crime for many years, but never did. The videotaped interview came the day after police had seized a sample of Sleigh's DNA and he confessed to his parole officer.

"You know it bothers me, it bothers me a lot. It's bothered me for 11 years," said Sleigh. "At least I don't have to hide anymore. I think I owe that to Punky's family."

Sleigh, 42, never said why he did the crime, but he did speak about unresolved issues and possibly hating women, stemming from his anger towards his mother.

He also talked about being sexually abused by adult males when he was a child, being "victimized" by an aunt when he was 12 and being abused by foster kids as a teen.

Sleigh is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault.

[Sher]

Accused child killer Clifford Sleigh confessed to several people after city police seized his DNA for use in the Corrine (Punky) Gustavson murder investigation.

And a common theme to his admissions to various staff at Bowden Institution appeared to be that he had caused the death of the six-year-old girl, but he hadn't killed her.

After detectives took a sample of Sleigh's blood on March 12, 2003, and told him it was regarding the Gustavson case, prison nurse Sandra Curtis assessed his mental health.

She testified yesterday Sleigh told her police were asking him about a 10-year-old case which was highly publicized.

"He just described it as being horrific," said Curtis.

Later that day, Sleigh asked to speak to Bowden elder Dave LaSwisse, a native counsellor at the prison, and they met in Sleigh's cell in the segregation unit.

"He said it had something to do with ... he mentioned the name Punky and there hadn't been a day gone by that he hadn't thought about it for 11 years," said LaSwisse.

The elder said Sleigh maintained "he didn't kill her," but would be going away for a long time. "He said, 'I didn't kill her - it was what I did that killed her.' "

On March 13, parole officer Shauna Kiziak visited Sleigh and asked if he wanted to talk about the investigation.

"He broke down crying and said yes," she testified.

Kiziak said Sleigh told her "he had hurt a little girl 10 or 11 years ago." She told the jury Sleigh repeated that he had left Gustavson alive and did not kill her, but said he added, "... what I did killed her."

The parole officer testified she again visited Sleigh on March 14 over concerns he was suicidal.

"He broke down crying and said he couldn't believe what he had done and said he was afraid to be around small children, especially girls, because of what he had done to Punky," said Kiziak.

In cross-examination, Kiziak said Sleigh was in distress.

"Some was genuine. Some was because he was in a lot of trouble," she said, adding he was sometimes untruthful.

On March 15, the day before Sleigh was transferred to Edmonton Institution, he spoke to Don Stoesz, a chaplain at Bowden.

Stoesz testified Sleigh knew he was going to be charged with murder, but denied killing Gustavson.

"He said he had taken a girl to an isolated area and basically left her there on a fender and he believed she was all right," said Stoesz, adding Sleigh was "quite shaken."

Sleigh, 42, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping. On Monday, the jury watched a videotaped confession to police where Sleigh revealed how he kidnapped and raped the six-year-old girl on Sept. 6, 1992.

[Sher]

Accused child killer Clifford Sleigh told a nun he was angry with his wife and looking for her daughter when he abducted six-year-old Corrine (Punky) Gustavson.

That's what Sister Elisabeth Coulombe, the chaplain at Edmonton Institution, told the jury yesterday at Sleigh's first-degree murder trial in Court of Queen's Bench.

"What he said was that the day before he did Corrine, he was very angry with Gail (Smith) and he was looking for Chasity (McKay)," said Coulombe.

"He was angry at Gail because he felt she was controlling him," said Coulombe, adding the anger he felt stemmed from just before the Gustavson kidnapping.

"And he didn't like her attitudes."

Regarding what Sleigh said about Smith's daughter Chasity, the nun said the convict told her he was looking for her. "He did not find her," she said.

Court has heard Sleigh snatched Gustavson from outside her northeast Edmonton home about 10 a.m. on Sept. 6, 1992, after earlier leaving the home of one of his wife's relatives following a night of drinking.

In a videotaped statement to police, Sleigh said he was feeling angry and wanting to punish somebody as he drove with Gustavson beside him, shortly before raping her.

Coulombe, who used to offer Sleigh counselling when he was in the segregation unit of the maximum-security prison, testified she spoke to him regularly in 2003 after he was charged with Gustavson's killing.

She testified Sleigh also claimed Gustavson "was alive when he left her" at a remote trucking yard and that he "was drunk when he picked up" the girl.

After police seized Sleigh's DNA in March 2003 and told him it was for use in the Gustavson murder investigation, he told several prison staff that he hadn't killed her - although he added, "what I did killed her."

Sleigh, 42, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping.

On the first day of the trial he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and tried to plead guilty to manslaughter, but the Crown rejected that plea and said they were proceeding with the first-degree murder charge.

On Monday, the jury saw Sleigh's videotaped confession to police, where he revealed how he kidnapped and raped Gustavson and left her at a Sherwood Park trucking yard.

[Sher]

Unless accused child killer Clifford Sleigh testifies in his own defence, closing arguments will begin in the Corrine (Punky) Gustavson abduction and sex-slaying case today.

The Crown wrapped up its evidence Wednesday and the jury had the day off yesterday.

Once the final submissions are made, the 11 jurors will receive instructions about the law from Court of Queen's Bench Justice Terry Clackson and begin deliberating, but that won't be until Tuesday, due to the long weekend.

Sleigh, 42, is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping.

On the first day of the trial he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and tried to plead guilty to manslaughter. But the Crown rejected that plea and said it was proceeding with the first-degree murder charge.

On Monday, the jury saw Sleigh's videotaped confession to police where he revealed how he kidnapped and raped Gustavson and left her at a Sherwood Park trucking yard.

Court has heard Sleigh snatched Gustavson from outside her northeast Edmonton home about 10 a.m. on Sept. 6, 1992, after earlier leaving the home of one of his wife's relatives following a night of drinking.

In the videotaped statement, Sleigh said he was feeling angry and wanting to punish somebody.

In his confession to police, as well as admissions to prison staff, Sleigh maintained Gustavson was alive when he left the trucking yard.

After police seized Sleigh's DNA in March 2003 and told him it was for use in the Gustavson murder investigation, he stated to a native elder at Bowden Institution that he hadn't killed her, but added "what I did killed her."

[Sher]

Clifford Sleigh, the man found guilty of murdering a six-year-old Edmonton girl, was given the minimum life sentence today with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Sleigh, 42, was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault and first-degree murder just days ago, in the 1992 death of Corinne Gustavson.

Before Sleigh was sentenced today, the girl's family read five victim impact statements to an Edmonton court.

The girl's father, Ray Gustavson, said that his daughter's murder caused the breakup of his marriage, and ultimately led to a breakdown.

While relatively unemotional through most of the proceedings, Sleigh broke down in sobs when he stood to apologize to the family.

Known as 'Punky' because of her unruly tangle of hair, Corinne was snatched as she played with a friend in her own backyard. Her lifeless body was later found brutally assaulted at a truck yard east of Edmonton.

Sleigh was a suspect early on in the investigation, but it took more than a decade before police could lay charges, based on DNA testing.

He later confessed to the kidnapping and assault, but told police the little girl was still alive when he left her at the truck yard east of Edmonton.

[Sher]

The family of murdered six-year-old Corinne (Punky) Gustavson was able to confront her killer yesterday before he was sentenced to a life behind bars.

Court heard victim impact statements from Punky's mother Karen Vallette, father Roy Gustavson, sister Roseanne Gustavson, uncle Ron Davies and cousin Amanda Davies at the sentencing hearing for Clifford Mathew Sleigh, 42.

Many in the packed courtroom wept as Vallette tearfully spoke of being robbed of seeing her daughter's life unfold and constantly thinking about the horror she suffered.

"Since the day my daughter Punky went missing, my life and the lives of my family have been permanently damaged. There is not a day goes by we don't feel the pain of losing her. We think about her every day," said Vallette.

"I cannot stop thinking about her. What she went through. Was she cold? Did she hurt? Did she call for me?" she said.

"What did you do to her for those days that you had her? Did she ask you to bring her home to me?"

Vallette told Sleigh he had taken away her son Barry's "soul mate" and said he isn't able to enjoy his birthday because it falls on the same day Punky was buried.

"So I want you to know my family will get over this someday and we will be stronger as a family. We may not have her here with us, but we will have all our memories of her. That is one thing you will never take from us."

Vallette also remembered Punky as a fun child who made everyone smile and laugh.

"I know she is looking down at us because she is my little angel," she said.

A jury convicted Sleigh on Wednesday of first-degree murder, aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping for Punky's Sept. 6, 1992, abduction sex-slaying.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Terry Clackson handed Sleigh a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years, although he can apply for the so-called faint hope clause, to seek parole earlier, after serving 15 years.

One of the 11 jurors appeared in court briefly yesterday and hugged Vallette, handing her a small gift bag.

Punky's father Roy Gustavson said "blame and guilt" following the crime led to the breakup of his marriage to Vallette and him suffering a nervous breakdown.

"The crime against our baby girl has had a devastating effect on every day of my life. I feel so sad when I think about Corinne and one can never forget," he said.

Punky's sister Roseanne told Sleigh: "All I would like you to hear is that I will never forgive you for taking my baby sister away from me and the rest of my family."

Ron Davies told Sleigh he "shattered a family" and left them living in pain every day.

"I pray to Mother Earth and the spirits of the wolf and the eagle that your soul will never ever rest in peace," he said. "I hope that every time you close your eyes you are haunted by what you did."

Sleigh was charged with raping and killing Punky in 2003 after advances in technology led police to matching his DNA with semen found on the little girl's underwear.

The jury heard Sleigh snatched Gustavson from where she was playing outside her northeast Edmonton home about 10 a.m. after earlier leaving the home of one of his wife's relatives following a night of drinking.

In a videotaped confession to police, Sleigh revealed how he kidnapped and raped Gustavson, but claimed he left her alive at a Sherwood Park trucking yard. He said he was feeling angry and wanting to punish somebody as he drove around with Gustavson sitting beside him.

[Sher]

Killer rapist Clifford Sleigh tried to apologize to the family of slain six-year-old Corinne (Punky) Gustavson, but he was shouted down by the girl's angry cousin.

Just before being sentenced to life in prison, the 42-year-old career criminal accepted an opportunity to speak from Court of Queen's Bench Justice Terry Clackson.

"I just want to apologize to the family and say I'm sorry," said Sleigh, who had tears in his eyes as he stood and looked towards family members in the packed courtroom.

At that point, a visibly upset Amanda Davies stood up from her back-row seat and yelled at Sleigh.

"Don't cry for us. We don't need your remorse, buddy," said Davies. "Don't cry for her. Don't cry for us."

The judge asked Davies to be quiet and Sleigh continued.

"I'm sorry for the pain that I brought into this family," said Sleigh. "I accept full responsibility for my actions."

Davies again jumped up and said: "No you didn't."

The judge repeated his warning about speaking out, but Sleigh gave up trying to speak any more.

Outside court, Punky's mother Karen Vallette and her uncle Ron Davies both rejected Sleigh's apology.

"I just thought it was a bunch of hot air," said Ron Davies, adding the family got their justice by knowing Sleigh will never be able to hurt another child again.

"He'll never get out," said Vallette. "He'll rot in jail before he gets out. Justice was served."

Court heard Sleigh has a long criminal record dating back to 1979, and including convictions for raping a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl.

Crown prosecutor Jason Track told court Sleigh was sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted in February 1995 of raping the 13-year-old in May 1993.

Track said the girl had been caught skipping school and was scolded by both Sleigh and her mother. Then, when the mother left to play bingo, Sleigh brutally raped her.

The girl then jumped out of a window and fled to the apartment of a relative because Sleigh had gone to the kitchen and she felt he was going to get a knife, he said.

Track said Sleigh was convicted in June 1996 of sexual assault, anal intercourse and unlawful confinement for earlier raping a 15-year-old girl.

The girl told police she had gone with Sleigh to Edmonton and he had come into her room and jumped on her.

Sleigh also twice served prison time for robbery, said Track, adding he got a six-year sentence both times.

Court also heard Sleigh was convicted of dangerous driving in 2002 following an escape from a prison in Hobbema with a fellow convict after a police officer went to the prison to get a sample of Sleigh's DNA.

"Sleigh certainly knew what was coming," said Track, referring to his eventual arrest for Gustavson's abduction, rape and murder as a result of his DNA being found on her panties.

[Sher]

As the hearing to decide whether to restrict Karla Homolka continues, the case of another notorious criminal is coming to light. Edmonton police are considering similar restrictions against sex offender and former youth centre guard Karl Toft.

Toft, 69, admitted abusing more than 200 boys over about 20 years, starting in the 1960s. It happened while he worked as a guard at Kingsclear Youth Training Centre near Fredericton.

He's currently staying at a halfway house in Edmonton and will be released in December.

Toft is described as a hebophile -- someone sexually attracted to children aged 12 to 18.

Alberta Justice and Edmonton police are looking into an application under Section 810 of the Criminal Code that could require Toft to report his whereabouts and limit where he goes, even though he has finished serving his 13-year sentence.

"Mr. Toft is obviously well known to the legal community and we do know there is concern and he is being monitored quite closely by Edmonton police," Alberta Justice spokesman Mark Cooper told the National Post.

"Before warrant expiry, there will be some thorough consideration on what needs to be done next," he said.

Detective Wil Tonowski meets with Toft once a week. He says the 69-year-old is cooperating with police and managing his own behaviour.

"If he was in a Safeway store and a teenaged boy walked in, we've actually seen him put his grocery basket down and quickly exit the store," Tonowski said.

Toft is also working with a group of citizen volunteers called a Circle of Support and Accountability. The group's mandate is to help Toft re-enter society so he can lead a responsible, productive life.

Tonowski says police will evaluate Toft's progress closer to his release date.

Last August, the National Parole Board turned down Toft's request to move into an adults-only apartment building.

A similar request was also refused in October 2003 because the parole board said Toft lacked remorse for the assaults.

[Sher]

An Edmonton "freak" who raped a 16-year-old runaway was handed a 4 1/2-year prison term yesterday to go with the 3/ 1/2 years he got last week for mugging old women.

Chadwick Jason McCoy, 32, maintained he was not guilty of the June 1, 2004, rape, although his father told the judge his son has psychological problems and a terrible drug habit and apologized "that somebody got hurt."

The father also said: "This boy has problems."

McCoy was convicted on May 16 of sexual assault, choking and uttering death threats.

Court heard that McCoy met the 16-year-old girl in a southside park and asked her to smoke some marijuana in his car. She had not slept or eaten in five days.

THREATS

They drove downtown and parked behind an apartment building. When the girl realized McCoy had no drugs, she tried to get out of the car and was attacked.

McCoy put her in a headlock until she nearly lost consciousness. He then threatened to kill her if she didn't have sex with him.

After the rape, McCoy let her out of the car to put her clothes on and drove away. She then ran for help.

In a victim impact statement, read by Crown prosecutor Allison Downey, the girl called the rape "every woman's nightmare" and said she remains "haunted" by the terror.

"I have never felt so wronged or violated. He seemed like a nice guy, but then he changed like a demon taking over his body," she said, calling McCoy an "evil entity."

Downey said McCoy pleaded guilty to three robberies on May 27 and described them as violent mugging-type crimes with the victims all being elderly women.

Court heard he was also convicted last week of indecent exposure for randomly attacking a woman at a stop sign, trying to kiss her, reach up her skirt and exposing his thingy.

He is slated to be sentenced for that crime June 10.

The victim, who was knocked to the ground just before he walked away, called him a "f---ing freak."

McCoy also has a criminal record for robbing a cabbie at knifepoint and holding up a liquor store.

DRUG-INDUCED

Downey said a psychiatric assessment of McCoy revealed he suffers from an antisocial personality disorder and a possible psychotic disorder, either schizophrenia or drug-induced through his use of crack cocaine and crystal methamphetamine.

Provincial court Judge David Tilley reduced McCoy's sentence by 20 months for the 10 months he spent in pretrial custody.

Tilley also ordered McCoy to be registered with the national sex offenders registry program and said he must report to authorities for the rest of his life.

The judge also recommended McCoy be assessed and get treatment at Saskatoon's Regional Psychiatric Centre.

"I hope you get the help you need, Mr. McCoy," said Tilley.