Man sentenced for manslaughter in death of baby Veronica Poitras

The man convicted in the death of a toddler three years ago has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Sherman Whitford, now 38, was found guilty of manslaughter in the death of his girlfriend’s daughter 16-month-old Veronica Poitras in November of 2019.

Poitras suffered head and neck injuries on Aug. 26, 2017, and was transported by air ambulance to Edmonton.

She died on Aug. 29, 2017, after being taken off life support in an Edmonton hospital, three days after she was admitted to care.

On Tuesday, Dec. 1, Whitford was handed the sentence and given four-and-a-half years credit for time served in pretrial custody.

He was originally charged with second-degree murder.

He will serve three-and-a-half more years and will be under a firearms probation for at least ten years.