By Canadian Press

Killer of Calgary woman, five-year-old appeals convictions and sentence

Jun 10, 2019 | 1:45 PM

CALGARY — The killer of a Calgary woman and her five-year-old daughter is asking for a new trial.

Edward Downey’s lawyer has filed a notice that he’s appealing his two first-degree murder convictions.

He’s also seeking permission to appeal his sentence of life in prison with no chance at parole for 50 years.

A jury found 49-year-old Downey guilty last December in the deaths of Sara Baillie and her daughter, Taliyah Marsman.

The trial heard Downey killed Baillie because he blamed her for the breakdown of his relationship with her best friend, and that the child was a witness who needed silencing.

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Both died by asphyxiation.

Queen’s Bench Justice Beth Hughes sentenced Downey to consecutive periods of parole ineligibility and called him a “callous and remorseless individual.”

Downey’s grounds for appeal, set out by lawyer Kelsey Sitar, include that the judge erred in pre-trial rulings, in charging the jury and in imposing consecutive periods of parole ineligibility.

The Canadian Press