In heart-wrenching victim impact statements, the parents of Arto Howley stood in court Tuesday morning in Port Coquitlam and described their devastated lives since the death of their son two years ago - on his first day at daycare.
"The last thing I want to do is stand here in a room full of strangers and... tell you how it feels to leave my healthy, happy baby at daycare and then never see, touch or hold my baby again," said Victoria Howley. "It was supposed to be a milestone... that has turned into a living nightmare and, for me, a life sentence.
"It has destroyed my marriage and changed my outlook on life completely."
Howley was speaking at the sentencing hearing of 49-year-old Maria McFerran, the operator of Rattle-n-Roll daycare, who pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death.
In January 2011, the court heard, Arto's parents settled on McFerran's daycare for their son before Howley's return to work.
As an unlicensed daycare, McFerran was authorized by law care for no more than two children not related to her. But on Jan. 17, 2011 - just two days before Arto's first birthday - a total of seven children were at the daycare.
At 10:10 a.m. that day, the court heard, McFerran placed Arto in a car seat whose padding had been removed, twisted the straps for a more secure fit and left him in the bedroom with the door closed; there was no baby monitor in the room.
McFerran didn't go back to check on Arto until 11:15 a.m., when she discovered he wasn't breathing. She took him out of the seat and brought him into the living room, screaming for her daughter to help.
Her daughter said McFerran should call 911 but, instead, she told her to look after the other children while she placed the car seat in the garage. On her way back, McFerran called 911.
She initially told police that Arto had been asleep in a playpen and must have choked on a blanket but the next day, McFerran went back to police and told them the true story. A search of the McFerran home on Shaughnessy Street that day turned up eight car seats.
It was determined that Arto had slipped down in the car seat and was strangled by the straps.
Crown counsel Jay Fogel told the court a car seat expert concluded the seat Arto had been placed in was "unsafe and unsuitable" for use as a child-restraint device.
"This was not an unavoidable accident," Howley said in her statement. "There were choices, options and time. If any of these had been realized, Arto would have celebrated his third birthday this year.
"It's hard for me to see children," she said. "When I see toddlers, I think of how Arto was when I left him at daycare. And when I see a baby, I remember holding him.
"I will never know the suffering he endured, I will never know how he struggled.
Arto's father, Jeff Howley, broke down in sobs as he recounted the aftermath of his son's death.
Sinking into a deep depression, rage and alcoholism, Jeff Howley said he caused he and his wife to separate. He lost his job and had to move in with his parents in Alberta.
A subsequent move to Kamloops did not help as Jeff struggled with daily thoughts of suicide.
"And now, with a new baby on the way, I can't even be happy or excited about that."
Outside the court, Jeff and Victoria Howley held a large photo of their son and read a statement expressing their frustration at the daycare system.
"Our message is for the thousands of families like ours who do not have the luxury to stay at home with their children and who must rely on daycare," Victoria said. "Jeff and I did everything we could to pick the best daycare for Arto. We wanted to find a place where he would be safe and happy.
"If we had known the truth about Maria, about the complaints laid against her, about the inspections she failed, about the children she had endangered and the families who left her daycare because they feared for their children's safety, we never would have trusted her with Arto's life.
"The system should be set up so families can easily access all the information they need to make one of the most important decisions they will ever make... but it isn't. All we hope is that his death is a wake-up call for parents and anyone who cares for children."
The Crown recommended a sentence of two to three years for McFerran, noting her clean prior record and early guilty plea; the defence emphasized McFerran's deep remorse and requested a jail term of six to 12 months.
The judge will deliver his decision and reasons for sentencing on May 27.
A civil suit is also pending in the matter.
