Parole board approves escorted absences for woman convicted in drowning deaths of her children

Elaine Campione with her two daughters, left to right, Serena, 3, and Sophia, 19 months, in an undated photo. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / HO)

The Parole Board of Canada has approved a series of escorted temporary absences for Frances Elaine Goodine, also known as Elaine Campione, who is serving a life sentence for the first-degree murders of her two young daughters.

In a written decision, the Board said it considered support letters received in late October, along with victim statements and recommendations from Correctional Service of Canada. The Board concluded the proposed absences would not pose an undue risk to the public and would support rehabilitation.

Goodine, now 50, was sentenced on Nov. 15, 2010, to life in prison for two counts of first-degree murder, with parole eligibility after 25 years. The Board noted the sentencing judge also imposed a DNA order and a lifetime prohibition on possessing weapons. Her appeal was dismissed in 2015.

According to the Board’s decision, Goodine drowned her three-year-old and 19-month-old daughters in a bathtub in her Barrie, Ont., apartment in October 2006. The Board said she contacted police afterward and admitted responsibility. At the time, she was involved in a custody dispute with her former husband.

The Board reported Goodine didn’t have a criminal history and had been in custody since her arrest.

Victim statements submitted to the Board described ongoing grief, loss and trauma. The Board noted the escorted absences would not happen in the vicinity of the victims.

The decision highlighted Goodine’s personal background, noting she was raised in what it described as a prosocial home, completed high school and college, and was employed before her marriage. The Board said she reported being in a physically and emotionally abusive relationship and experienced worsening mental health following the breakdown of her marriage in 2005.

The Board said Goodine has a long history of mental health challenges, including diagnoses of major depressive disorder, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychosis.

The decision pointed to a psychological assessment completed in May of this year that rated her as low risk to reoffend, and touched on Goodine’s successful completion of correctional programs, consistent participation in therapy and chaplaincy, and improved correctional plan ratings.

Correctional Service of Canada recommended approval of escorted temporary absences to attend church services. The Board agreed, stating the absences are highly structured and supervised by trained citizen escorts, with travel in a government vehicle and no secondary stops.

The approved plan includes 58 escorted absences over 12 months, totaling 177 hours. The Board noted Goodine has been classified as minimum security since 2015, has had no institutional charges or security incidents, and has successfully completed previous escorted absences.

The Board concluded the absences are desirable for “personal development and rehabilitation.”

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