EDMONTON - The Edmonton father of twin girls so horribly abused, deprived and starved that one died and another barely survived was sentenced Wednesday morning to 15 years in prison. After credit for time served he has 12 years left on his sentence.

The 36-year-old father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his children, pleaded guilty in April to manslaughter, aggravated assault and failing to provide the necessities of life. His two-year-old daughters suffered for months before he finally called paramedics after one stopped breathing in May 2012.

One of the girls, known as S, made a miraculous recovery. Her sister, known in medical records as Baby M, was removed from life support after doctors concluded that recovery was impossible.

On June 5, prosecutors called the Algerian immigrant’s crimes torture and argued he should serve a prison sentence of 18 to 20 years.

“It is difficult to imagine a more appalling case of manslaughter to be visited upon a helpless child,” Crown prosecutor Megan Rosborough told court. “M died a long, excruciating death and was tortured repeatedly in the time leading up to her death. S’s life with her parents was equally shocking and tortured.”

Defence lawyer Peter Royal said a two-decade sentence would be “grossly excessive” and argued his client should serve 10 to 12 years.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Sheila Greckol will sentence the father in the absence of any explanation for the abuses.

“One’s immediate instinct is to understand why this happened, and we may not be able to,” Greckol said at the sentencing hearing.

“I’ve been given no answer,” Royal told court. “No answer at all.”

In the early morning of May 25, 2012, the father called 911 after his daughter stopped breathing in the family home while he was at work, according to an agreed statement of facts.

Inside the home, paramedics found the twins strapped into car seats. M, ashen and emaciated, was not breathing and had no pulse. Her sister, S, was also little more than skin and bones.

“They should have been able to rely on their father to protect, nurture, feed and love them,” Crown prosecutor Shelley Bykewich told court. “This was a breach of trust of nearly unfathomable dimensions.”

The twins’ four-year-old brother was in fine health. He jumped on the sofa as medics tried to save his sisters.

The home was well stocked with food. The son had numerous toys and slept in a clean bedroom with his parents. The girls’ room had no toys, few clothes and a filthy mattress on the floor that reeked of urine.

“S will eventually have to deal with the knowledge that her parents cared for and fed her brother and let her and her sister starve,” Bykewich said.

M’s injuries were devastating. Her 13-pound body was covered with scabs and bruises. M also had blunt force cranial trauma that was not accidental, doctors found. After a short, fierce legal battle, M’s parents lost control of her medical care and the courts ordered she be removed from her respirator in September 2012.

Her sister S was three pounds heavier, but still too weak to move her legs or arms. S was also covered in bruises. She was released from hospital three weeks after paramedics were called. She and her brother have now been adopted.

“I did not want to hurt or harm my kids, but it was a very big mistake,” the father wrote in a letter read to court. “I will live heartbroken for the rest of my life. We love our kids.”

The father also wrote that he believed M had forgiven him, “because she was a perfect daughter and had a kind heart.”

The father will be deported from Canada once released from prison. Prosecutors asked that he not be eligible for parole until he’s served half his sentence.

The mother of the twins was also charged. Her case has not yet reached trial.

The Algerian couple married in March 2007 and immigrated to Canada a year later.

rcormier@edmontonjournal.com