Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

A Penticton woman and sister of a man who was stabbed to death at a party in 2011 was sentenced to 106 days behind bars Thursday.

Heather McAdam, 27, has accumulated a large criminal record over the past few years, largely due to breaches and failure to appear in court, according to the crown prosecutor.

McAdam was last taken into custody May 23, with most of her convictions falling between November 2016 to May 2017.

McAdam has spent the last 64 days in jail which will be applied to her 106 day sentence handed down by Judge Gail Sinclair. She will now have 42 more days to spend in custody.

When the crown prosecutor asked Sinclair if he is familiar with the criminal history of Heather McAdam, he responded "I have known her since she was a baby."

As McAdams defence lawyer gave a brief history of her life, she wept.

"She had a difficult childhood. Her mom was addicted to drugs and also sold to support her habit, resulting in her being removed from her mother's care and put into the care of her grandparents," the defence lawyer said.

She moved back in with her mother at 12-years-old, which resulted in McAdam "using crystal meth at a young age."

Her lawyer then went on to explain how hard on her the stabbing of Andrew McAdam, her brother, was to cope with.

"It was after her brother's death that she turned to heroin use to numb her pain."  

McAdam explained to judge Sinclair that she is now being treated for cancer in her ovaries and her cervix.  

"I've been seeing the doctors here but they don't really have the technology to deal with me," she said. "Hopefully when I get out of here I can start seeing the doctors again regularly."

Sinclair appeared sympathetic towards McAdam and proceeded to wipe her slate of all monetary fines associated with her charges.