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I remember when this happened at the beginning of the year. The guy went to court for the first time today. It's a horrible story.

I can not post the link, but if you google it, it's everywhere.

Christopher Pauchay makes first appearance in provincial court

Father charged in freezing deaths of daughters Santana and Kaydance on Yellow Quill First Nation

Darren Bernhardt, TheStarPhoenix.com
Published: 2:06 pm

ROSE VALLEY - Christopher Pauchay's first court appearance took 15 seconds and even fewer words.

The father of two little girls who froze to death earlier this year on the Yellow Quill First Nation stood before provincial court judge Barry Morgan and simply nodded when asked if he was Mr. Pauchay, then shook his head when asked by Morgan if he had anything to say.

The matter was adjourned to June 11 at the request of the defence counsel. At that time the matter will return to the makeshift court in the Rose Valley community hall, just 15 kilometres west of Yellow Quill.

Pauchay left without saying a word to the media masses, walking straight ahead as though oblivious to the crush of reporters and cameras.

He climbed back into the truck in which he arrived with his father, lit a cigarette and drove off.

Pauchay, 24, is charged with one count of criminal negligence causing the deaths of his two daughters, Kaydance, age three, and her 16-month-old sister, Santana. The girls were found frozen in the snow not far from their home on the reserve, located about 260 kilometres east of Saskatoon.

Pauchay left their house in the middle of a January night with the windchill in the -50 C range. Allegedly drunk and carrying his diaper-clad daughters, Pauchay became disoriented from the cold and stumbled to a neighbour's home, where he was found lying on the stoop, alone.

He was rushed to hospital suffering from hypothermia and frostbite. It wasn't until he was able to speak eight hours later and asked about his daughters that anyone knew the little girls were still out there. A frantic search ensued with Santana's body recovered later that day. It took another day to find Kaydance.

Autopsies confirmed both girls died of hypothermia.

Pauchay's family has stood by him in the wake of the tragedies, calling him a good father who has "suffered enough" and doesn't deserve a trial or prison sentence. At the same time, Pauchay is currently facing unrelated charges in Regina court for allegedly assaulting his common-law wife, Tracey Jimmy, and also two counts of breaching a probation order.

Jimmy, the mother of the girls, did not attend the court appearance on Wednesday. In a prior interview with The StarPhoenix, she admitted the couple has had difficulties, much of it due to alcoholism. She was not at home the night her daughters died; she was out drinking at a party elsewhere on the reserve.

The deaths of their daughters have forced Jimmy and Pauchay to get sober. They are now seeing a counsellor on the reserve and the majority of people in their community support them, Jimmy said last month. She also said her husband plans to plead not guilty to the charge in connection with the girls' deaths.

The couple has another reason to set their lives straight. They have a two-month old daughter named Miracle.

In the wake of the tragedy, and under the national spotlight, the Yellow Quill band has proposed to build an on-reserve alcohol and drug treatment centre to battle its rampant addiction problems. The nearby Kinistin and Fishing Lake reserves have also jumped on board in support but the plan is still in the preliminary stages with the federal government yet to decide on any support.