ROSE VALLEY, Sask. — The Saskatchewan man whose two toddlers froze to death last year is to be sentenced Friday afternoon. The case, which attracted nationwide attention, was the subject of an aboriginal sentencing circle last month, when elders and community members recommended Christopher Pauchay receive a conditional sentence to be served at home on the Yellow Quill First Nation reserve — the place where his daughters died.

The Crown has asked for a prison sentence of 2 1/2 to five years due to the seriousness of the crime and Pauchay's lengthy criminal record, which includes more than 50 prior convictions. A judge will decide.

Pauchay, 25, pleaded guilty last year to a single count of criminal negligence causing the deaths of his daughters, 15-month-old Santana and three-year-old Kaydance. Searchers found the girls' bodies, nearly buried in snow drifts not far from the family's home, on Jan. 29 and 30, 2008.

Pauchay was extremely drunk when he left the house the previous night — when temperatures had fallen below -50 with the wind chill — with both girls dressed only in shirts and diapers, the court heard.

Pauchay was initially released on bail while the negligence charge was pending.
He was returned to custody Jan. 8, after RCMP arrested him at a small-town bar near the reserve. He's accused of violating his release conditions by drinking alcohol on two separate occasions this winter.

Yellow Quill is about 220 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon.

With files from the Saskatoon StarPhoenix

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