CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Editor's note: This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing.
A P.E.I. woman who pleaded guilty to three counts of infanticide will find out her fate in November after the Crown attorney argued for a sentence of more than seven years.
Shannon Dawn Rayner, 40, appeared before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown for sentencing Monday after previously pleading guilty to three counts of infanticide, one count of concealing the body of a child and one count of theft.
During the proceedings, Crown attorney John Diamond read from an agreed statement of facts detailing the offences, how they were discovered and the various versions of events that Rayner gave to people after the babies’ births. Rayner was living with her mother at the time of all three births.
Diamond told the court that in 2015, Rayner gave birth to a baby girl she wrapped in a blanket and kept in her room for about one month before placing it in a plastic tote she put in her home’s basement.
The court also heard about medical care Rayner received during two of her pregnancies, along with missed appointments that included those for planned C-sections.
In 2016, Rayner told a doctor she had delivered a baby boy at the IWK Hospital in Halifax and had given it to a family member.
A few months later, Rayner told the same doctor she had a miscarriage.
Diamond said Charlottetown police started their investigation into two of Rayner’s pregnancies on March 21, 2017, because of information from obstetrics and gynecology services and Health P.E.I.
Rayner also initially told police she was travelling to Florida in November 2013 when she had a miscarriage in the bathroom of the resort unit where they were staying.
During a different interview with the police, Rayner said she delivered that baby, who she named Bentley, in February 2014 while she was home alone and she tried to perform CPR on him.
Rayner told police she dressed the baby in a diaper, clothed him, wrapped him in a blanket, placed him in a plastic bag and put him in the garbage bin.
During the same interview, Rayner said she delivered a baby boy In November 2016 at her home while her mother, sister and two children were asleep.
Rayner said she named that baby Ezra and he was crying for about 15-20 minutes while she cradled and tried to quiet him.
She told police she put a diaper on the baby, wrapped him in a blanket, left him on the bathroom floor and locked the door.
Rayner went to work the next morning and said she disposed of the body in a garbage bin two days later.
That version of events differed from her initial interview with police when she said she delivered the baby while sitting on a toilet and couldn’t tell if he was alive.
In the initial interview, Rayner told police she flushed the baby down the toilet after several attempts.
Rayner’s mother contacted the police in September 2018 to report she found the remains of two infants in plastic totes in her basement.
Her mother contacted the police again in May 2019 to report finding the remains of another infant in a mini barn on her property.
While Rayner’s matters were before the court, she underwent a mental health assessment that found she was fit to stand trial and she didn’t meet the conditions of being found not criminally responsible.
In his submissions, Diamond recommended a sentence of 2.5 years on each of the infanticide charges to be served consecutively and one year for concealing a body to be served concurrently.
The maximum penalty for infanticide is five years in prison.
During his submissions, Diamond said the death of any infant is tragic and the fact a mother is involved is “unspeakable".
Defence lawyer Thane MacEachern agreed the infanticides called for consecutive sentences, but he recommended a total sentence of three years.
MacEachern said it was obviously a very difficult case and the facts were disturbing.
“The facts don’t make a lot of sense,” he said.
Before Douglas adjourned the matter, he asked Rayner if she wanted to say anything.
Rayner, who sat at the defence table with her wrists cuffed, shook her head no.
Douglas adjourned the matter until Nov. 6 for his decision.
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