The 29-year-old Kirkland Lake woman charged with abducting a baby from the Sudbury Regional Hospital earlier this month was released from police custody following a review of her bail hearing last week.
Defence attorney Berk Keaney took the opportunity of the review to more accurately portray the difficult life Brenda Batisse endured leading up to the abduction.
“The most significant factor to me is that this woman has been demonized in the public since this incident occurred because no one understood her personal circumstances,” he said. “Now there will be a different light on it and I expect a change in the public reaction.”
As Keaney described, Batisse’s life was one filled with sexual, emotional and physical abuse.
“At the age of 11, her step-father’s brother began sexually abusing her and it continued for the next six years,” Keaney said. “During these years, Brenda did not have or enjoy a caring or nurturing relationship with her mother and didn’t have the advantage of feeling her mother’s love.”
At 18, her mother died during the trial of Batisse's step-uncle. Batisse and her sister were bounced around between many relatives' homes.
Two years later, Batisse was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and requires daily injections of insulin.
In 2003, her stepfather was diagnosed with cancer and died two years later.
Keaney also said Batisse had been in a nine-year relationship that showed indications of abuse.
At the age of 21, Batisse gave birth to her first daughter. At the age of 24, her second daughter was born.
In early October of this year, Batisse claimed to have given birth to a five-month old stillborn baby, following a physical beating in her hometown.
After being assessed by a forensic psychologist following the abduction, Batisse was found to be suffering from a major depressive disorder.
Batisse has written a letter of apology to the mother of the baby she abducted.
“My intentions were never to hurt anyone but just to make my family whole again,” she wrote. “I am not a bad person and would never hurt you or your sweet baby girl. My life has been quite cruel to me. I've had many losses and I just wanted to bring home a beautiful baby to my girls.”
Batisse will appear in court in the new year to determine her sentencing. An abduction charge carries a maximum 10-year sentence.
For more information on the bail hearing and the details of the abduction, see Wednesday's paper.
