Ada Guan, who was found guilty of manslaughter in the tragic death of her five-year-old daughter Chloe Guan-Branch in Ottawa, is currently the subject of a Canada-wide warrant due to her repeated failure to attend court hearings leading up to her sentencing.
Chloe Guan-Branch passed away in May 2020 after enduring abuse and neglect, including a severe bladder rupture that went untreated. Ada Guan’s boyfriend, Justin Cassie-Berube, was also implicated in Chloe’s death and was sentenced to 14 years in prison for various charges related to negligence and assault.
Ada Guan later pleaded guilty to manslaughter, acknowledging her failure to provide necessary care to her daughter and fulfill her legal obligations as a parent. Despite an initial plea in August 2024, delays ensued, with a sentencing hearing repeatedly rescheduled due to pending reports on the impact of intimate partner violence on Guan’s culpability.
Despite multiple court orders for Guan to appear, she failed to attend the hearings, with her lawyer citing communication difficulties and lack of contact with Guan since late June. Consequently, a Canada-wide bench warrant was issued for her arrest at the Crown’s request.
Chloe Guan-Branch’s birth in 2015 on an Air Canada flight garnered international attention, as her parents were unaware of the pregnancy. After being taken from her parents by child welfare authorities, she was returned to Ada Guan three years later. Tragically, Chloe’s health deteriorated while living with Guan and Cassie-Berube in Ottawa, leading to her untimely death and the subsequent legal actions against her caregivers.