A 28-year-old Vancouver woman has been found guilty of killing her two newborn sons.
Sarah Leung has been convicted on two counts of infanticide.
Leung wrapped her newborn baby in a plastic bag and threw him in the trash after giving birth four years ago. The baby’s body was found in a bag outside an East Vancouver home in 2009.
She gave birth to a second son the following year, delivering the baby into a toilet at her parents’ home. Crown lawyers said Leung put the baby into a bag and held him against her chest to keep him quiet. After he stopped moving she put him into a garbage bag outside her house and covered it with a piece of cardboard.
The infant’s body was never recovered.
Leung was initially charged with second-degree murder but her lawyer argued she should be convicted on the lesser charge of infanticide.
Crown said the young woman was terrified of her parents finding out about her pregnancies, and feared their disapproval.
Lawyers said the baby’s father knew about the pregnancy and was happy about it, but Leung was desperately trying to hide the baby – and even her relationship with the man – secret from her family.
Infanticide carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
