On February 9, 2008, the body of a twelve-year-old girl was discovered under the snow on a bank of the LaHave River near the rural Nova Scotia town of Bridgewater. She had been brutally murdered. The body was identified as Karissa Boudreau, who had been missing for two weeks and was the subject of an intense missing person investigation by the Bridgewater Police Service. Her murder rocked the community, the province and the nation.

The RCMP began a homicide investigation, as Karissa’s body was found in their jurisdiction. Over the following five months, the RCMP carried out an extensive and costly investigation, which included the “Mr. Big” operation. As liaison between the RCMP investigative team and the undercover team, Sgt. John Elliott worked closely and travelled with the undercover team during their four-month operation. Supported by police file notes and court documents, his riveting first-hand account of this carefully constructed procedure meticulously takes the reader through the missing person investigation, the homicide investigation, and the undercover operation.

On June 13, 2008, the RCMP made an arrest and the following day they charged Penny Boudreau with the first-degree murder of her daughter Karissa. Why did she do it? Penny’s obsessive love for her boyfriend Vernon and her fear of losing him drove her to plan the cold-blooded murder of her only child. This is the shocking story of a child who simply became an inconvenience.

Elliott’s gripping description of Penny’s heartless murder confession to “Mr. Big” reveals how ruthless she was and how she was brought to justice. It was an exceptionally disturbing murder, unprecedented in Nova Scotia and uncommon throughout the world. Karissa was betrayed and murdered by her mother, whom she loved dearly and who was supposed to protect her and love her unconditionally.

Many of the police investigators, including Sgt. Elliott, were profoundly affected by what they saw and heard during the investigation. And the devastating ripple effect of Penny’s heinous crime spread from Karissa’s family and friends to the community and beyond. A shocking but compelling story, A Mother’s Betrayal takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster from start to finish.

Former Sergeant John Elliott served thirty-five years with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in his home province of Nova Scotia. His policing experience included uniformed duties, criminal intelligence gathering and major crime/homicide investigations.

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