Stepmom found guilty of 2nd-degree murder in death of Melonie Biddersingh
Teen's body discovered in 1994, but she was not identified until 2011
A woman accused of killing her stepdaughter more than two decades ago has been found guilty of second-degree murder.
Elaine Biddersingh had pleaded not guilty in the death of 17-year-old Melonie Biddersingh.
Melonie's charred, malnourished body was found in a burning suitcase in an industrial parking lot north of Toronto in 1994. The girl's identity remained a mystery for years until Biddersingh told an Ontario pastor in 2011 that the girl had "died like a dog."
Biddersingh's trial heard that Melonie, who came to Canada from Jamaica to live with her father and stepmother, was physically and emotionally abused.
Crown prosecutors argued Biddersingh was the mastermind behind the abuse while her husband was the enforcer.
But Biddersingh's defence team suggested the woman was a victim of domestic abuse herself, and argued her husband responsible for Melonie's death.
