Man convicted in 1994 murder of teen daughter in Toronto dies in prison
Everton Biddersingh, 69, was found guilty of 1st-degree murder in 2016
A man convicted of killing his 17-year-old daughter in 1994 has died in prison.
Everton Biddersingh was found guilty in 2016 of first-degree murder in the death of his daughter Melonie. He was automatically sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
Biddersingh died at Millhaven Institution's Regional Treatment Centre of apparent natural causes on Friday, according to a news release from Correctional Service Canada. He was 69 years old.
Melonie moved to Canada from Jamaica with her brothers in 1991 to live with their father. Her emaciated body was discovered in a burning suitcase in a parking lot north of Toronto in 1994.
During the trial, court heard Biddersingh treated his daughter like a slave and subjected her to prolonged abuse. The Crown argued he drowned or starved Melonie before putting her body in a suitcase, taking it to a remote area and setting it on fire.
Biddersingh then told friends and relatives, including Melonie's mother in Jamaica, that the teen had run away from home. He never reported her missing.
Melonie's remains were unidentified until 2011, when her stepmother, Elaine, told her pastor the girl had died after being confined and deprived of food and medication.
Elaine was convicted in 2016 of second-degree murder in the girl's death and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 16 years.