Mississauga, NY- The lawyer for one of two Mississauga sisters found guilty of killing their mother says there is nothing illegal about the girls posting nude photographs of themselves and seeking sex on an Internet chat site just days before their trial.
Eugene Bhattacharya, the lawyer for the younger girl, said the issues surrounding the American website that has posted the images and messages will likely be discussed with Justice Bruce Duncan before the sisters are sentenced.
The passages and photographs are part of an ongoing Internet relationship with a 30-year-old man from New York, who runs the website, and the sisters, now aged 19 and 18.
News of the website was made public over the weekend.
Since then, at least one other website was created in the U.S. showing images of the girls, as well as information pertaining to their highly-publicized trial, including the judge's ruling.
While Bhattacharya said he had "pressing concerns" about the impact the websites will have on the case, he maintained yesterday they shouldn't affect sentencing, which is expected to begin in April.
"This information doesn't disclose any illegal or criminal conduct and I see no value on the issues of sentencing," he told The News last night.
One of the website's message boards includes written sexual exchanges between the man and authors who allegedly are the notorious killers.
In the exchanges, one of the girls talks about her sister's arrest and how police obtained evidence to charge them with murder.
The website also shows provocative pictures of the girls the man claims were sent to him by the sisters.
Both websites also include passages from visitors that insult and mock the girls.
On Dec. 15, the two girls, whose identities are protected in Canada under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, were found guilty of killing their alcoholic 44-year-old mother by drowning her in the bathtub on Jan. 18, 2003. They were 15 and 16 at the time.
Several Internet conversations presented as evidence during their eight-week trial this fall showed the two girls told several friends they were planning to murder their mother by drowning her. They also talked with friends, online and in person, before and after the crime, revealing gruesome details of how their mother died.
Judge Duncan must now decide if the girls will be sentenced as adults or as youths.
Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the girls could face life in prison with no parole for a minimum of seven years if sentenced as adults, at which time their identities can be made public.
Should they be sentenced as youths, they face a maximum 10 year sentence with no parole for a minimum of six years.
