A provincial board that doles out compensation to victims of crime has denied Brenda Waudby's bid for financial compensation

Waudby, and her daughter Justine Traynor, applied for compensation with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board on the grounds that they suffered from mental or nervous shock.

Both would have been eligible to receive a maximum of $25,000.
Waudby's 21-month-old daughter Jenna Mellor was murdered in January 1997.

Based on the flawed findings and direction of forensic pathologist Dr. Charles Smith, Waudby was initially charged with Jenna's death.

That charge was withdrawn in 1999. City police eventually charged Waudby's babysitter with Jenna's death.

He was 14 at the time of Jenna's death, and was 22 when he pleaded guilty to manslaughter in December 2006.

He was sentenced to 22 months in jail and 11 months in open custody.

Julie Kirkpatrick, Waudby's lawyer, said Waudby applied for compensation before the Goudge Inquiry began in June 2007.

When the inquiry ended in 2008 she revived her application, and Traynor filed her own application.

In finding someone eligible for mental or nervous shock compensation, the Board considers the closeness of the relationship between the applicant and the injured or killed person, whether the applicant was at the scene of the crime or came upon the scene, how the applicant learned of the crime and the degree of violence involved in the crime.

Kirkpatrick said the Board's reasons for its March 10 decision is subject to a publication ban.

In a statement given to The Examiner, Waudby said she was shocked by the Board's decision.

"I cannot understand or fathom the reasoning for this decision," Waudby states. " I am unable to speak about the reasons for the decision or the evidence that was before the Board, but I can say that what I have read in the decision about my life makes no sense to me."

"My life has been torn to pieces by the death of my daughter. I have fought for every person out there in this community and all communities across Canada. I do not want this issue to happen again."