5-Year-Old Canadian Girl Who Made Headlines for Being Born on a Plane Found Dead After Years of Abuse

Chloe Guan-Branch’s guardian Justin Cassie-Berube has been found guilty of manslaughter and child abuse

A Canadian girl, who became a worldwide sensation after being born on a plane, died from abuse and neglect five years later, according to new reports. 

Chloe Guan-Branch was found dead in her bed with evidence of “shocking” abuse five days after she turned 5 on May 15, 2020 in Ottawa, Canada. Justin Cassie-Berube was found guilty of manslaughter and child abuse on March 1, per the CBC and Ottawa Citizen.

The reports come after a lift on a publication ban on the case granted by Guan-Branch’s biological paternal grandparents.

Guan-Branch was discovered in the apartment where she lived with her mother, Ada Guan, and her mother’s ex-boyfriend Cassie-Berube, per the outlets. She had lacerations on her head and injuries to her face and body, including a bruised abdomen, cuts on her lips, rib fractures and cigarette burn marks on her hips.

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The 5-year-old ultimately died of acute uremia caused by a fatal bladder rupture that occurred days before her death on May 9, 2020. The condition led to symptoms of severe pain, nausea and seizures, per the CBC and Ottawa Citizen.

According to evidence in the trial, Guan-Branch suffered worsening effects of the rupture in the days leading up to her death as she moaned in pain, was unable to leave her bed and lost consciousness. Per Guan’s testimony, the young girl was never taken to the hospital as Cassie-Berube was concerned her bruises would lead to questions from doctors.

Cassie-Berube told police Guan-Branch was “perfectly fine” on the morning of her death. Her mother discovered her body an hour later, the CBC reported.

Evidence in the case revealed that six months earlier, Guan sent a text to Cassie-Berube about her daughter’s abuse that read: “… It makes me mad when we said no more slapping her face and her mouth and you go and do that … I just don’t wanna see her face all bruised and f—– up no more. ..”

Per Ottawa Citizen, he responded, “OK. I’m sorry I understand what you mean, you do have every right to yell and get mad. I’m sorry for what I did.”

According to phone records, per CBC, Cassie-Berube searched online for answers regarding Guan-Branch’s symptoms, mentioning “puking,” “passing out” and “hard to walk” the day before she died.

Cassie-Berube was found guilty of manslaughter, failing to provide the necessaries of life, assault causing bodily harm and assault and criminal negligence causing death. He will be sentenced on May 24.

Superior Court Justice Pierre Roger said Cassie-Berube “contradicted himself numerous times, admitted that he lied on occasion and at times grossly embellished parts of his narrative” in an Ontario courtroom on March 1.

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Guan-Branch previously hit headlines as a baby after being born on a plane back in 2015.

Her mother gave birth to her during a flight from Calgary to Tokyo, after not realizing she and her ex-partner at the time, Wes Branch, were expecting, Ottawa Citizen reported.

According to evidence in the trial, per the outlet, B.C.’s child protective services removed Guan-Branch from her parent’s care when she was a few months old and her parents split soon after. At age 3, she was returned to her mother’s care.

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