VANCOUVER, B.C. – A Vancouver man has been sentenced to life in prison in the death of his two-year-old step-daughter, who died after being repeatedly punched in the stomach.
David Carl Sunshine was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2005 death of Isabella Rain-Ayala.
The Crown said he had beat the toddler and burned her with a cigarette lighter because he didn’t like her biological father.
Evidence presented in court indicated the little girl bled to death when a vein in her abdomen ruptured.
Sunshine sat with his hands in his lap as the judge explained why he believed the child killer deserves little leniency and won’t be eligible for parole for 15 years.
Outside the courthouse, the girl’s mother said she’d hoped for a 25-year sentence, but she’s satisfied with the term and happy she won’t have to see Sunshine again for 15 years.
