A former Barrie woman who drowned her two young daughters nearly 19 years ago in a local apartment building, and whose “institutional behaviour appears satisfactory,” has been granted permission to continue to leave her minimum-security facility on escorted temporary absence (ETA) passes.
The Parole Board of Canada extended the passes for Frances Elaine Goodine, formerly Campione, on Jan. 23 following a review.
The review noted that, during her incarceration, Goodine has “not incurred any institutional charges or been involved in any security incidents, have not come to the attention of the security intelligence officer (SIO) and there is no information to suggest you are involved in the institutional subculture."
Goodine has provided samples for urinalysis testing on 13 occasions which all returned negative for intoxicants, the report stated.
She has been granted the ETAs for personal development since 2018, when she began escorted visits to attend church once per month.
Goodine, now 49, is serving a life sentence for two counts of first-degree murder with no chance of parole for 25 years.
She drowned her two young daughters, 19-month-old Sophia and three-year-old Serena, in the bathtub of her Coulter Street apartment in north-end Barrie in 2006.
Goodine had been involved in a custody dispute with her ex-husband at the time.
According to the board’s review of the facts, Goodine contacted police, admitting to the murders and then attempted suicide.
"Over the course of the investigation, police determined that you drowned the victims in the bathtub of your home before dressing them and placing them in your bed," noted the parole board's decision.
"Police also found video recordings you made, in which you addressed your estranged husband, showing the victims in the bathtub two days earlier, later describing them as being in heaven and blamed your failed suicide attempt on him," it stated.
Police found the girls lying on their mother's bed, holding hands with a rosary and a photo album between them.
Goodine was later convicted of first-degree murder.
An appeal was rejected in 2015.
She has claimed to not to recall the drownings.
“You have participated in a number of psychological risk assessments (PRAs) over the course of your sentence. According to the most recent PRA of June 2023, based on clinical and actuarial data, you continue to present in the low range of risk for violent recidivism,” the panel stated in its decision.
The parole board indicates Goodine “made some gains” in self-management programs and that, despite completing the programs, she could “benefit from participating in it again in the community in order to apply the skills learned.”
Goodine requested six ETA packages — four of these would be renewals of existing packages, while two are new requests.
In all, the total number of ETA hours requested is 1,755.5, which consist of 372 ETAs to be taken over an 18-month period.
Most of the program names and locations were redacted on the document provided to BarrieToday, an affiliate of BradfordToday and InnisfilToday, by the parole board on Tuesday. The only one identified is 86 ETA visits to a church.
Goodine will be escorted by a” trained citizen escort and/or CSC staff with close supervision,” it states.
The parole board says Goodine has “cascaded from maximum to minimum custody" and that her "accountability has improved from low to high
"Your motivation has increased from medium to high and your reintegration potential has remained at medium," the board added. "You have demonstrated good insight into your risk factors, your mental health is currently stable and you are committed to your continued rehabilitation.”
The board concluded that Goodine “will not present an undue risk to society during these absences."
