Editor's note: The following story may include details that are disturbing to some readers.
A woman who drowned her two young daughters in the bathtub of her north-end Barrie apartment in 2006 has again been granted temporary absence passes from prison.
The Parole Board of Canada is allowing Frances Elaine Campione, who now uses the name Frances Elaine Goodine, to leave prison on escorted temporary absence (ETA) passes for church and other events.
“These ETAs will allow you to continue your slow gradual reintegration into the community as well as build credibility for future, more liberal forms of release,” the board panel wrote in its determination approved on Dec. 9.
This extends her ability to access freedom that she had received in September 2019. Her trips outside of prison will all be with an escort and are for a maximum of five hours over the course of the next year.
The passes now allow her to leave for up to five hours to attend weekly church services, plus services on Christmas and Easter.
She was also granted temporary absence passes for up to five hours to go to a weekly celebrate recovery program.
She is also allowed to go to bible study one day per month for up to four hours.
Goodine is permitted to leave the institution for up to 1.5 hours to go to a self-love and worthiness program weekly for eight weeks.
In the earlier approved passes, she was permitted to attend church, mental-health rehabilitation programs and to a two-day Divine Conference in May 2020.
On Oct. 2, 2006, Campione, now known as Goodine, killed her two daughters, 19-month-old Sophia and three-year-old Serena, by drowning them in the bathtub of their home at the Coulter Glen Apartments on Coulter Street, behind Bayfield Mall.
She then attempted to commit suicide.
She was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder and an appeal was rejected in 2015.
In its decision, the parole board panel noted that she had gone to the police station to report her children dead.
Police found the girls lying on her bed, holding hands with a rosary and a photo album between them. They noted that she claimed no recollection of drowning the girls and that, at the time, she was in a custody dispute with her ex-husband.
It also noted that she cascaded through the system to a minimum-security institution in 2015 and has not presented any security concerns or incurred any institutional charges.
Goodine is currently working in the institution as the chaplain’s assistant and with its blanket program. She’s also participated in programs, attended church and programming from which she appeared to receive “significant benefit.”
Some of her achievements listed in the decision includes participating in a series of programs and receiving certificates from various programs including suicide prevention and awareness, anger resolution, horticulture, forgiveness, emotional healing and breaking the cycle of abuse and guilt and shame.
An October psychological assessment found her to be a low range of risk for violent recidivism, according to the report.
“You are in the 15th year of your sentence, with the past five years in a minimum-security setting. You have completed correctional programs recommended for you and participate in several chaplaincy led programs. Despite some responsivity issues, you have completed a college diploma in business and are upgrading your education in order to enroll in university-level courses,” the board noted in its decision.
While it did find there are no significant areas of concern, the board found the need for ongoing monitoring for stresses that arise in community releases.
