15 Facts About Phoenix Sinclair

Phoenix Victoria Hope Sinclair was a Canadian five-year-old girl who was murdered by her mother and stepfather.

Phoenix Sinclair was born on 23 April 2000 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Samantha Kematch and Steve Sinclair.

Phoenix Sinclair was first housed in a temporary shelter and later with foster parents, where her parents were allowed visitation rights.

Phoenix Sinclair's sister, Echo, was born 29 April 2001, at which point another CFS assessment was made, but no change in custody was ordered.

Police responded to a domestic violence call at the family home in June 2001; the couple had reportedly separated by early July 2001, with Steve Phoenix Sinclair caring for both girls.

The agency considered Steve Sinclair to be the "primary caregiver" of record for Phoenix.

The agency's file on Phoenix Sinclair was closed in early 2002, but another was opened when Phoenix Sinclair was hospitalized in February 2003, as medical personnel expressed concerns regarding possible neglect.

Phoenix Sinclair was taken into custody by CFS in June 2003 and placed in the temporary guardianship of Kim Edwards in early July.

Around this time, Kematch became involved with Karl "Wes" McKay, and Phoenix began living full-time with the couple; Steve Sinclair left the province to live in Ontario.

Phoenix Sinclair was registered at Wellington School for nursery school in fall 2004, but school personnel reported never encountering either her or Kematch.

Phoenix Sinclair was made to sleep in a cold basement, was given very little food, and was forced to eat her own vomit.

McKay and Kematch returned to the city with their baby in late 2005, and had a second child together in December; they continued to claim welfare funds for Phoenix Sinclair, and told acquaintances that the girl was living with her father or another relative.

Phoenix Sinclair was buried in Brookside Cemetery in Winnipeg in April 2009.

An official inquiry into the case of Phoenix Sinclair was announced in October 2006 but was delayed until the completion of legal proceedings against Kematch and McKay.

Phoenix Sinclair recommended changes to the provincial school curricula and to programs for supporting those on welfare, among others.