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A Toronto woman who suffocated her sons two years ago has been sentenced to life in prison without a chance of parole for 18 years.
Vanessa Collias, 27, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto on Monday.
Her sons, four-year-old Dimitri Collias and and five-year-old Yiannis Collias, were killed one after another in her Scarborough apartment on Glamorgan Avenue in the area of Kennedy and Ellesmere roads on Dec. 10, 2023, according to an agreed statement of facts.
Court heard that Collias told Dr. Sumeeta Chatterjee, forensic psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, that she felt “broken” and “absolutely alone” and “the only thing she wanted was for the family to be reunited” after her husband Costa Collias, 47 years her senior, died of leukemia on Dec. 1, 2023, three days after being diagnosed.
Court also heard that Collias could not imagine life without her husband and wanted he and her sons to be reunited with him in heaven.
After Collias killed the boys, according to the agreed statement of fact, she tried to die by suicide and was left a paraplegic.
The statement of facts said Collias left notes for police and a list of family phone numbers. She also laid out her sons’ funeral clothing, their birth certificates, a picture of their dead father and placed a cross beside their bodies.
Police found boys next to each other without vital signs
According to the agreed statement of facts, Toronto police went to Collias’s apartment building after a call for unknown trouble and found her on the grass outside. She told them she had fallen from the sixth floor.
Police found the boys lying side by side without vital signs, the statement said. They were pronounced dead in hospital later that evening.
Collias’s letter to police contained apologies and pleas for forgiveness to family members for what she had done, according to the agreed statement of facts.
“She stated that her biggest regret was not being successful in her own suicide attempt,” the statement says, referring to what Collias expressed to the psychiatrist.
Woman not suffering from major mental disorder: report
Chatterjee, in her psychiatric report contained in the sentencing materials, said Collias was overwhelmed by the sudden death of her husband nine days earlier and her grief was intense.
She said Collias did suffer from an adjustment disorder, but it did not qualify her for a “possible defence” of being not criminally responsible as a result of a mental disorder.
“In summary, while Ms. Collias does not suffer from a major mental disorder that might have otherwise impacted her ability to appreciate her actions or know the consequences of the same, she is the product of persistent childhood trauma that informed her adult views of the world, sense of safety and relationships,” the reports reads.
“Her history formed the foundation of a sudden and severely maladaptive and tragic coping response following the unexpected death of the only source of security she had in life.”
The Crown and defence jointly recommended that Collias serve 18 years in prison before being eligible for parole. Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell agreed and imposed the sentence recommended.
If you or someone you know is struggling, here’s where to look for help:
If you’re worried someone you know may be at risk of suicide, you should talk to them about it, says the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. Here are some warning signs:
- Suicidal thoughts.
- Substance use.
- Purposelessness.
- Anxiety.
- Feeling trapped.
- Hopelessness and helplessness.
- Withdrawal.
- Anger.
- Recklessness.
- Mood changes.
