9-year sentence for starving autistic sister

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9-year sentence for starving autistic sister

Posted By THE CANADIAN PRESS

Posted 9 hours ago

A woman who kept her severely autistic sister locked in a basement

that eventually became her crypt has been sentenced to nine years in

prison for manslaughter.

In sentencing , 33, on Thursday, Justice ph Fragomeni

described the circumstances of the case as among " the worst " he had

ever experienced as a trial judge.

Fragomeni said Pinckney endured a " slow, painful and lonely

descent into death " and that the " graphic and disturbing photos "

presented during the trial " spoke volumes " about the last days of her

life.

Pinckney, deprived of food and water for long periods of time, weighed

just 84 1 /2 pounds -- and resembled a human skeleton -- when she was

found lying dead on a filthy carpet in the feces and urine-strewn

basement of her Mississauga residence.

Evidence at trial indicated she had been deliberately starved to death.

, a Mississauga mother of three young children, pleaded not guilty

and remained defiant about her innocence even after her conviction on

Feb. 1.

Fragomeni told that society demanded she serve a lengthy period of

incarceration in a federal penitentiary for what he described as a

" tragic, horrific and senseless " death of a " vulnerable " young person.

Pinckney was denied the " most basic " of human necessities, he said.

" She was denied food, water and medical attention. "

Prosecutor Raftery sought a 10-to 12-year sentence.