Man, Woman Charged In Death Of 5-Year-Old Girl Born On Air Canada Flight

After a year-long investigation into the death of a 5-year-old girl whose birth on an international flight made headlines, police have charged the girl's mother and a man in connection with her death.

Police said that Chloe Guan-Branch, the little girl from Ottawa, Canada, was found injured at her home in the 1300 block of Meadowlands Drive on May 15, 2020, and later died in a hospital.

According to a news release, the police have charged Chloe's mother Ada Guan, 25, and a man identified as Justin Cassie-Berube, 27, Sunday.

The officials have not revealed the exact relationship between Cassie-Berube and the deceased child. Further details regarding the circumstances of the child's death were also not released. However, the investigators said that “significant forensic analysis” led to the charges.

Cassie-Berube was charged with “manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life,” while Guan was charged with “criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life.”

Chloe was born to Guan on Mother's day in 2015 while she was flying on an Air Canada flight with her then-boyfriend Wes Branch. Guan, unaware of being pregnant with Wes's child, gave birth on the flight from Calgary to Tokyo. The couple got split up a year after Chloe was born, news outlet Ottawa Citizen reported.

Wes was denied access to his daughter since he got separated from Guan, his mother Sandra Branch told the news outlet. His family was also unaware of the cause of the child's death until the investigators contacted them Saturday to inform them about the arrests.

“We’re hurting because our son is hurting,” Sandra said, adding: "He’s devastated.”

Last week, a mother from Maine was charged with manslaughter after her 3-year-old daughter who was brought unresponsive to a hospital died.

Hillary Goding, 28, of Old Town was arrested on the day her child died in the hospital after being hospitalized for two days. The investigators didn’t reveal the details regarding the autopsy report but said the delay in seeking medical attention contributed to the child's death.