Calgary man who murdered girlfriend and toddler sees convictions upheld by court of appeal

A Calgary man who hid the bodies of his girlfriend and her toddler in Kananaskis Country after murdering them will not see his conviction in the child's death overturned, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday.

In 2021, Robert Leeming, 39, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Jasmine Lovett, 25, but he denied responsibility in the death of Lovett's 22-month-old daughter Aliyah Sanderson. He was convicted of a second count of second-degree murder following a trial.

Leeming, who is currently serving a life sentence, appealed his conviction in the toddler's death, arguing the trial judge did not adequately consider evidence from the forensic pathologist who could not rule out an accidental fall down stairs as the cause of the child's fatal injuries.

But on Tuesday, the province's top court rejected Leeming's conviction appeal, finding that the trial judge properly evaluated the evidence of both the pathologist and Leeming's own testimony. 

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Justice Keith Yamauchi found Leeming was "not a believable witness", with lies "manifest throughout his testimony."

The panel of appeal judges found Yamauchi was "extremely generous" in his assessment of whether the killer's version of events left any reasonable doubt. 

"The appellant's evidence was inconsistent with, and contradicted by, the evidence of the pathologist," wrote the court of appeal in its 16-page decision.

Leeming was cheating

Lovett and her daughter were reported missing by family on April 23, 2019, four days after the pair missed a family dinner. 

At the time, Leeming and Lovett had been in a relationship for about a year and were living in Leeming's Cranston townhouse.

Lovett wanted to marry Leeming. 

But unbeknownst to her, Leeming had started seeing other women. 

During the missing persons investigation, Calgary police identified Leeming as a suspect in the disappearance of the two victims and initiated an undercover operation.

Two officers buddied up to Leeming at a pub near his house. 

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He told the officers: "Someone tried to expose who I am and it ended badly."

Less than five hours later, he led them to the bodies of the mother and daughter in Kananaskis.

Leeming claimed that Aliyah died as the result of an accidental fall down the stairs and that he killed her mother when she came home to discover her daughter was dead.

During the trial, Leeming admitted he attacked Lovett with a hammer and then shot her when she began to question whether he was to blame for Aliyah's death. 

The medical examiner testified that Aliyah suffered three distinct skull fractures.

Leeming is currently serving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 16 years.