Parole revoked for woman convicted in son’s death

A Waywayseecappo woman who pleaded guilty to manslaughter six years ago in the death of her two-year-old son had her parole revoked last week after her behaviour became “no longer manageable.”

Jessica Melissa Brandon is back behind bars after breaching her full parole conditions to abstain from alcohol and drugs and disclose to a parole supervisor if she was in a relationship, a decision by the Parole Board of Canada released Tuesday said.

Brandon, who is in her mid-40s, killed her son, Draze, more than 10 years ago after drinking and passing out, then finding him jumping around and not listening to her, the Sun reported after her sentencing hearing. In court, Brandon admitted to throwing the boy on the floor and striking him multiple times in the head in January 2015.

She was originally sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in Brandon Court of Queen’s Bench in July 2019.

Shortly before police re-arrested her during a wellness check in August, Brandon attempted to manipulate urine tests and deceived her management team “for many months,” the parole board wrote in its eight-page decision.

Brandon was released on full parole in November 2023 after being on day parole since September 2021. Her day parole had gone well, the decision said, with breaches only starting after full parole started and she began living in an apartment somewhere in Manitoba.

“The board did acknowledge how well you had done on day parole over an extended period of time, however, once on full parole, things began to fall apart,” the board wrote.

“During the past year on full parole, you have relapsed three times with alcohol consumption. Two of the three recent suspensions resulted in arrests by police.”

In July, the parole board’s attempts to reach Brandon were not successful and she “panicked” when told to go for a urinalysis. She failed to attend three consecutive tests in August before providing a test that returned insufficient volume.

“On this occasion, you claimed to be unwell with poor physical and mental health, noting that your counsellor was away, sleeping poorly, experiencing struggles with your children, overall exhaustion and overall not doing well,” the decision said. “You were referred to Mental Health to assist you. It was determined your risk remained manageable.”

Brandon was re-arrested on Aug. 30 after being intoxicated. At that point, “it was determined your risk was no longer manageable,” the board wrote. She also admitted to being in a relationship with a man who is also on parole.

Brandon said that relationship included verbal, financial and physical abuse, and that she tried to leave the relationship but her partner threatened to send photos and messages of her to an elder.

The decision said Brandon had denied being in a relationship multiple times before she confessed to it after being arrested.

The board noted alcohol abuse was a direct contributing factor in her son’s death, and that her actions while on parole were done with her in control.

» alambert@brandonsun.com