| Frances Elaine Campione | |
| Nationality: | Canadian |
| Motive: | Bitter custody battle |
| Spouse: | Ex: Leo Campione |
| Children: | Serena and Sophia Campione |
| Charge: | First degree murder |
| Locations: | Barrie, Ontario |
| Conviction: | First degree murder (both counts) |
| Conviction Penalty: | Life imprisonment |
| Conviction Status: | In prison |
| Occupation: | Nanny and other |
| Victims: | Serena and Sophia Campione |
| Date: | October 2, 2006 |
| Weapon: | Bathtub and water |
Frances Elaine Campione[1] is an Ontario woman who murdered her two children in Barrie, Ontario, on October 2, 2006. Canadian prosecutors argued that she wanted to get revenge on her ex-husband and was afraid he would receive custody.[2]
Elaine Campione originated from Coles Island, New Brunswick, living there until she moved to Ontario for work reasons at around age 20. She had attended home support classes at a community college for one year. Christie Blatchford of The Globe and Mail wrote that she had "a normal enough childhood".[3] She went to Ontario to work as a nanny and she had other jobs.[3]
Elaine and then-husband Leo Campione, whom she met in 2000,[3] lived in Bradford, Ontario. The two parties divorced and Leo moved out of the house.[4] The victims, Serena and Sophia, were three years and nineteen months old, respectively, at the time of their deaths.[1]
At the time of the incident, Campione lived with her children in the Coulter Glen Apartments in northern Barrie.[1] Blatchford wrote that Leo and Elaine Campione were "engaged in a nasty divorce and custody battle."[3] Leo accused Campione of giving the girls substandard conditions at her apartment and asked the authorities for more access to the children and the appointment of a children's lawyer about one week before the deaths. Leo stated that there was a "mental health breakdown" on the mother's part.[1]
On October 2, 2006, Campione killed the girls by immersing them in a bathtub in their house, causing them to drown. She filmed a video addressed to her ex-husband with segments before and after her daughters died. Jessica Owen of Village Media described the video as "lengthy".[1] When the drownings were finished, Campione dressed them in pajamas and jewelry, posed them on a bed with objects, and attempted to kill herself.[1]
The Crown (Ontario authorities) charged her with two counts of first degree murder.[5] Mary Cremer served as Campione's lawyer.[3]
The trial took seven weeks.[4] Campione's lawyer argued that she was not guilty by reason of insanity; they did not dispute that she killed the girls.[6] On November 15, 2010 she was convicted.[5] The jury decided that she was guilty as she knew murder was wrong, despite any presence of mental illness.[7] Campione was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 25 years.[6] Leo Campione read a victim impact statement.[4]
Campione filed appeals against her conviction in 2010.[5] In 2015 some of them were denied.[7] In 2019 the Parole Board of Canada allowed her to have escorted absences from prison.[1]
Cases of filicide in Canada:
Cases of filicide attributed to revenge against an ex-spouse: