Barrie, Ont. woman convicted of killing her two young daughters granted escorted absences

Barrie woman Elaine Campione has been granted escorted absences while serving a life sentence for the deaths of her children.

A woman convicted of killing her two young daughters in her Barrie apartment nearly 15 years ago has been granted expanded escorted absences from prison as part of her rehabilitation process.

Elaine Campione, now known as Frances Goodine, was found guilty in 2010 of drowning her 19-month-old and three-year-old daughters in a bathtub.

She was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

The Parole Board of Canada recently ruled she would now be allowed six escorted absences, up from four, for personal development.

In its decision, the board stated Goodine’s absences are meant to support her continued rehabilitation.

Court records show that in 2006, Campione called police to her Barrie apartment, where officers found the bodies of her two children lying on a bed, holding hands with a rosary placed between them.

The room was cold, and a fan had been left running on high. Investigators later determined she had drowned the girls in the bathtub while struggling with mental health issues during a custody battle with her estranged husband.

“She did the most horrible crime imaginable,” said CTV News legal analyst and criminal defence lawyer Ari Goldkind. “There are likely very few people that when you hear she killed her two children in the midst of a custody battle think that the gates of the jail should open up at all for her.

But I can tell you from these documents that she’s been out on temporary escorted absences since 2018, and all of this is meant to facilitate her reintegration into the community, which, when she’s eligible for day and full parole, I expect to actually be granted," he said.

The escorted absences since 2018 have included visits outside the prison for religious services, personal development programs, and medical appointments.

The parole board noted she has following institutional rules, has not been involved in any security incidents, and has been classified as a minimum-security inmate since 2015.

The board’s report also highlighted that Goodine received ongoing psychological counselling. A psychiatric evaluation determined she presents a low risk of violent reoffending.

In 2018, the victim’s family submitted statements expressing its opposition to her release in any form. The family expressed their ongoing trauma and loss, with strong opposition to community reintegration. The board noted that while under escort, Goodine is not permitted anywhere near the victim’s family.

Goodine remains ineligible for full parole until she has served 25 years of her sentence.

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