The tragic life of the ‘girl born on plane’ who went viral in 2015 then meet brutal death at hands of carers just five years later

Gruesome details have emerged about the fatal beating of a Canadian girl who made headlines five years ago when she was born on an international flight.

Chloe Guan-Branch tragically died in May 2020 after years of torment at the hands of her stepfather Justin Cassie-Berube, who was found guilty in March of a slew of crimes linked to the girl’s death.

Her mother Ada Guan, who stunned the world when she gave birth on the flight in 2015 while claiming she didn’t even know she was pregnant, refused to take the girl to hospital for fear Justin’s abuse would be discovered.

In shocking new details, it was revealed that forensic pathologists discovered a number of injuries on Chloe’s body and concluded she died from a ruptured bladder inflicted on the eve of her fifth birthday.

The horror case had been kept hidden from the public until the conclusion of Cassie-Berube’s manslaughter trial, when a publication ban was lifted by a court challenge from several Canadian media outlets.

Chloe was born on Mother’s Day in 2015 aboard an Air Canada flight from Calgary, Canada to Tokyo, Japan.

Her mother Ada Guan and father Wesley Branch spoke of their shock at the happy arrival, with Wesley telling reporters upon arrival that he “couldn’t imagine this just happened, completely unexpectedly.”

Notably, the new parents also quickly turned off their supporters when they launched a GoFundMe for $50,000 because Guan was working part-time and Branch was unemployed, and Branch compared raising a baby to raising a cat.

The young girl’s life got off to a rough start when Chloe was removed from her parents’ care by the Children’s Aid Society within a few months and only returned to Guan at the age of three, reports the Toronto Sun.

Chloe’s parents also separated about a year after her birth, and her paternal grandparents said they lost contact with Chloe’s mother’s side of the family after the breakup.

Guan moved to Alberta, Canada, with her daughter and met Cassie-Berube online before moving to Ottawa with him in February 2019.

The Branch family said their estrangement extended to the point where Chloe died, as they didn’t even know the girl was in Ottawa until police contacted them to inform them of the tragedy.

‘We hoped we would meet her one day. We thought we would reminisce about the day she was born on a plane to Japan,” they wrote in a victim impact statement prior to Cassie-Berube’s sentencing.

During Cassie-Berube’s trial, Guan testified against him as she said he often flew into fits of rage and used little Chloe as a “punching bag,” a dynamic that only worsened when the trio was left alone during the Covid -19 pandemic.

She also testified that Cassie-Berube “grabbed her and threw her around, punched her, put soap in her mouth, hit her lips and face, threw her on the bed, pinched her ankles, grabbed her forearm, pulled her forward and hit. hair on top of her head with a wooden spoon.’

According to a judge’s summary of his trial, Cassie-Berube often threatened to commit suicide if Guan left him, while he repeatedly beat up Chloe at home.

A neighbor testified that he tried to explain away Chloe’s injuries with excuses as if she fell off her bed, while the neighbor recalled several incidents, including one around Christmas 2019 when she saw the girl’s face “shocked, bruised and bumped ‘ used to be.

In text messages reported by the Toronto Sun, Guan complained about the stepfather’s injuries, but seemed most concerned about them being noticed.

“I just don’t want her face to be all bruised and rotten. I don’t want to go out and have to cover her face just because it’s stained. That’s suspicious.’

He replied, “Okay. I’m sorry, I understand what you mean, you have every right to shout and get angry. I’m sorry for what I did.’

The sickening ordeal continued until Chloe’s fifth birthday, when she suffered a ruptured bladder. Cassie-Berube, who admitted much of the abuse, claimed the injury occurred when the girl fell onto her bed rail and was not the result of a blow.

He also made the same claim during his first police interrogation, in which the stepfather said he often blacked out while drinking, and reportedly said he needed help if he was “the monster that hurt a little girl.” .

“I’m the one who caused everything that’s happening now,” he allegedly admitted.

Chloe was found in a dirty bed after complaining of severe stomach pains for days. Police said she had a ‘shocking’ number of injuries when she was found.

A forensic pathologist ruled that the ruptured bladder was the result of blunt abdominal trauma from a full bladder, which left her with painful symptoms including a hard stomach, vomiting, loss of appetite and “urgent” need for medical care.

Her other injuries included a laceration and severe head injuries caused by blunt force, rib fractures and a slew of bruises on her arms, abdomen and legs.

Investigators added that they also found “possible cigarette burns on her left lower hip area.”

Guan testified that despite the injuries, she was prevented from taking Chloe to the hospital because Cassie-Berube threatened her that the bruises would “raise a lot of questions.”

Chloe’s cause of death was listed as acute uremia, a fatal condition caused by waste entering the bloodstream.

During the trial, Cassie-Berube was found guilty of all charges he faced, including manslaughter, assault, criminal negligence and failing to provide the necessities of life for the five-year-old girl.

The stepfather will be sentenced on May 24.