Saskatoon family wants new law for babies that die when mothers killed

Melissa Bear was pregnant with her sixth child when she was stabbed to death by her boyfriend in 2023.

APTN News: The family of Melissa Bear is calling for a law to be enacted that accounts for unborn babies who die when their mothers are killed or murdered.

Melissa Bear was eight months pregnant when she was stabbed to death by her boyfriend, Cary Daniel Bluebell, in Saskatoon on Aug. 29, 2023.

Her baby, a girl, died with her, Bear’s family said.

Last week, Bluebell was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a Saskatoon court after pleading guilty to manslaughter. He was originally charged with second-degree murder.

Bluebell, 34, was under an order to have no-contact with Bear, 33, said her family, but he was at her home on the day she died.

Had a big heart

“She was a fun-loving, caring daughter who just wanted to help everybody,” said her mother, Glenda Bear, “and she would give somebody a place to stay if they didn’t have anywhere to go because she had a big heart.”

Melissa was the mother of five children.

Her family and friends called the sentence “a slap on the wrist” noting it did not account for the life of her unborn child.

“He was supposed to be charged with first-degree (murder) and then second-degree, and now he has ended up being charged with manslaughter and that means that he gets time served,” said Aly Bear, a lawyer and friend. “They sentenced him to 13-and-a-half years, but including time served, he can now apply for parole in nine years.”

Melissa’ aunt, Andrea Naytowhow, said the manslaugher conviction ignores “baby Bear”, the healthy 8-pound girl Melissa was carrying.

“The baby girl was a human being (but) she didn’t take her first breath and she wasn’t cut from the umbilical cord …,” said Naytowhow. “Cary took that away.

“So where’s the law that Cary stole that from Melissa and the baby’s first breath?”