3yo Fil-Canadian girl dies after father stabbed her in Winnipeg

A three-year-old Filipino-Canadian girl died after she was allegedly abducted and stabbed by her estranged father in Winnipeg, Canada.

Canadian newspaper Toronto Star identified the victim as Jemimah Bundalian, who was allegedly kidnapped from her mother at knifepoint in the North End.

The suspect, identified as Frank Nausigimana, Jemimah's father, then stabbed the girl inside the car.

Police said Jemimah was found inside the vehicle along Jefferson Avenue and King Edward Street after a motorist called 911.

Rescuers performed CPR on the child in an attempt to revive her, but failed.

Nausigimana, now in custody, is facing charges of first-degree murder over the alleged stabbing to death of his daughter.

Prior to incident, Nausigimana pleaded guilty to assaulting his partner Jasmine Bundalian, Jemimah's mother, in 2019, and was sentenced to one year of supervised probation.

According to the Toronto Star, the suspect admitted to trying to force a liquid mixture on Bundalian's throat that he believed would induce an abortion.

Bundalian had secured a three-year protection order against Nausigimana, weeks before the suspect was arrested.

“I’m afraid that potentially Frank will come after me again, so I’m trying to be careful,” Bundalian said, as stated in court documents.

But over a month later, Bundalian sought to revoke the protection order, as she wrote in an affidavit: “I accepted his forgiveness. He won’t hurt me again… I trust him that he won’t do it again to me. I will take care of our child alone.”

Meanwhile, the suspect filed a petition on February 12, 2021 applying for “periods of care and control” of Jemimah and “mutual decision-making authority” with Bundalian.

Also, the said Bundalian had agreed to provide Nausigimana with more access to their daughter and periods of care and control, but rejected his bid for joint custody and mutual decision-making authority.

Dozens of people gathered at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and King Edward Street to pay their respects to Jemimah, as seen in a report by City News Winnipeg.

On behalf of Bundalian's family, the 204 Community Neighborhood Watch organized a prayer vigil, which is a Filipino tradition of a gathering when a person dies to give the grieving family support and comfort.

Flowers, stuffed animals and candles were laid at the scene in remembrance of the three year old girl.

"We condole with the family of our former deaf student Jasmine Bundalian on the brutal death of her 3-year old daughter Jemimah," Bundalian's alma mater Manila Christian Computer Institute for the Deaf College of Technology said in a statement.

—LBG, GMA News