Back in late January, Penny Boudreau of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia reported her twelve year old daughter, Karissa, missing. Mom told police that she and Karissa had argued in the parking lot of a local grocery store and she left her daughter in the car while she went in. When she came out Karissa was not in the car and there was no sign of her anywhere. Penny then held a news conference crying and begging for Karissa’s safe return.

Unfortunately things did not end well. On February 9th Karissa’s body was found on the west bank of the LaHave River near Bridgewater. The discovery of the twelve year old’s body put the town of Bridgewater on high alert with parents and the community at large wondering if they had a killer among them. People were worried that if the killer was unknown to Karissa then there was a possibility that he or she could strike again.

In a sad twist of events, Penny Boudreau was arrested last Friday and charged with the first degree murder of her daughter. While this may have brought some relief to the town that the killer has now been caught, the fact that it is the girl’s mother has caused waves throughout the community and beyond. After her first court appearance Monday, Penny was met by approximately one hundred people outside of the courthouse, many booing and yelling such things as “Child Killer” and “Murderer”. The fact that Boudreau is being charged with first degree murder means that there was some premeditation: she had planned ahead to kill her daughter.

All of the publicity this case has received and the fact that such a crowd had gathered outside the courthouse has lead to speculation that Penny Boudreau might not receive a fair trial in Bridgewater. In fact, some think that a motion to move the venue will be one of the first things her lawyer will do.

But I wonder how far will they have to move the venue to ensure that she receives a fair trial. There has been a lot of media coverage of this case and the fact that it is a first degree murder charge where the accused was the victim’s mother may make it hard to find twelve of her peers who are not already prejudice against her. I live one province over and I think that they would be hard pressed to find a jury here that would be able to hear and judge the case fairly.

This part of the country, not too long ago, was not used to a lot of crime, especially that against a person. I think in larger places it is easier for people to judge based on the facts, not the emotion. Maybe we are just not as desensitized to violence here.

But a mother who has premeditated the murder of her own child? I don’t think anyone anywhere can understand that. So maybe it doesn’t matter where they move the trial to, if they do: people are going to prejudge her, and deservedly so.