When Patricia O’Byrne disappeared with her baby daughter in May 1993, she genuinely believed she was doing what was necessary to protect the child from harm, Ontario Provincial Court heard Friday.
That information was contained in a four-page agreed statement of facts, read into the court record after O’Byrne pleaded guilty to abduction in violation of a court order.
O’Byrne met Joe Chisholm in 1986 at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. They became involved in a common-law relationship in February 1989 and had a daughter in September 1991.
They separated in June 1992, but could not agree on a custody order. In August 1992, O’Byrne applied for sole custody of the baby. She was granted interim custody in October 1992, with Chisholm granted interim access on specific dates.
Their settlement agreement included a condition that O’Byrne would not move more than 50 kilometres from Toronto. It also acknowledged she would be vacationing from May 17 to May 30, 1993 in South Carolina with her daughter and an unknown friend.
However, on May 28, O’Byrne’s lawyer received an unsigned letter from O’Byrne saying she and the child were gone and Chisholm would not find them.
On May 29, Chisholm went to the police to report his daughter and O’Byrne were missing.
The child was registered with Child Find in Canada and the U.S., and a Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for O’Byrne on June 15, 1993.
For years, Chisholm worked tirelessly to locate his daughter, spending significant financial resources chasing leads that proved fruitless, says the statement.
Finally, on Oct. 4, 2011, police received an anonymous tip from the Missing Children Society of Canada that O’Byrne was living in Victoria.
Efforts were taken to collect DNA samples to confirm that the woman living in Victoria was indeed O’Byrne. Police received information that a tissue sample had been taken from O’Byrne in 1988 during a medical procedure. They obtained a search warrant to seize the sample, which was sent for analysis to the Centre of Forensic Sciences.
Toronto police then asked Victoria police to obtain a DNA sample from the Victoria woman they believed was O’Byrne. The sample was a match.
O’Byrne was arrested and charged with abduction in contravention of a court order.
In planning the abduction, O’Byrne obtained government identification with a false name and under false pretenses, according to the agreed to statement of facts.
For 18 years, she avoided detection by using the two new identities she created for herself and her daughter. She brought her daughter across international boundaries and managed to remain in hiding, despite the fact there was a warrant for her arrest.
According to the statement, O’Byrne was the victim of ongoing sexual abuse as a child by male caregivers. Her mother was also a victim of domestic violence and, at one point, required plastic surgery on her face.
As an adult, O’Byrne sought counselling for the abuse she witnessed and suffered. During her relationship with Chisholm, she suffered from depression and sought the care of a psychiatrist.
O’Byrne’s history of abuse made her distrustful and overprotective.
“More significantly, as a child abuse survivor, Ms. O’Byrne saw Mr. Chisholm’s interactions with their daughter and parenting style as harmful,” the statement says.
Their family court agreement even specified that Chisholm was not to leave the baby in the care of any male during his access visits.
O’Byrne believed Chisholm did not adequately understand the need to protect his children from outside harm. She became increasingly frantic and frightened for her daughter while she was in her father’s care.
She abducted her daughter because she believed she was the only one who could keep her safe. She now recognizes that in abducting the child, she deprived a father and daughter of a relationship for 18 years, the statement says.
O’Byrne will be sentenced April 2 in Toronto.
