OTTAWA, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court of Canada gave the news media permission Thursday to report a guilty plea in one of Canada's most notorious child abduction-killing cases.
The ruling lets news organizations say Terri-Lynne McClintic, 19, one of two people accused in the 2009 slaying of 8-year-old Victoria Stafford of Woodstock, Ontario, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.
Until now, the plea and sentencing, along with other information revealed in court, was subject to a sweeping and controversial gag order.
The Supreme Court partially lifted the order when it rejected an appeal by the lawyer of McClintic's ex-boyfriend, Michael Thomas Rafferty, to keep everything under wraps.
Rafferty, 29, who has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and murder, is to be tried separately in the same case. His lawyers want his trial moved from Woodstock.
Rafferty lawyer Dirk Derstine said he was concerned publication of any material related to McClintic's case would prevent his client from getting a fair trial, The Globe and Mail reported.
While rejecting Rafferty's appeal, Justice Dougald McDermid ruled that because Rafferty's trial was still pending, only McClintic's plea, sentencing and agreed statements of fact may be reported. Some details of McClintic's case will remain shielded, the court ruled.
McClintic admitted in court to luring third-grader Tori as she walked home from school April 8, 2009, Postmedia News said. The girl's remains were found in a secluded field in rural Ontario July 19.
"Every time I close my eyes, I'm flooded with the memories of that day," McClintic testified in court. "I will never forget what happened, the mistakes I made, the failure I was". UPI
