B.C. caregiver takes the stand at criminal negligence causing death trial

A woman charged in connection to the death of a woman with Down syndrome who was in her care took the stand in her own defence on Monday at New Westminster court.

Astrid Dahl is charged with criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessaries of life. Fifty-four-year-old Florence Girard was found dead in Dahl’s Port Coquitlam home on Oct. 13, 2018. At the time, police said they believed there were signs of malnourishment and starvation.

The crown is alleging over time Girard was no longer being taken to medical and dental appointments, and was not having prescription medication renewed, leading her health to decline to the point where she was not eating properly.

Dahl testified she met Girard around three decades before her death at a group home where she was initially doing casual work.

She told the court she and Girard “hit it off right away”, and that Girard was extremely overweight in the group home because she was able to eat what she wanted and would hide food.

Dahl said Girard eventually came to live with her in a home-share agreement, and testified Girard was able to lose weight due to the new routine at her home.

In a recorded statement to police played on the second day of the trial, Dahl had told an officer she estimated Girard weighed about 185 pounds when she left the group home, and ended up losing about 100 pounds. She also estimated Girard was almost 5’ tall.

Dahl testified Girard did not like going to the doctor or the dentist.

“She would go into a fit of rage,” Dahl told the court. “Flo was very vocal when she didn’t want something and she didn’t like something.”

Dahl testified Girard would sometimes hit herself when upset.

“I did not have the right to force her,” Dahl testified. “I was not her boss.“

She said at one point in Girard’s care, a doctor had prescribed a pain medication for hip pain, but testified they had later switched to Tylenol.

Dahl testified at another point, in the years after a dental procedure involving Girard being given general anesthetic in 2012, she tried to take her to a dentist by telling her they were going shopping. But when they arrived, Dahl said, Girard became upset, and they were asked to leave.

“She immediately started screaming and yelling,” Dahl said. “She started slapping herself.” 

Dahl testified she wouldn’t put her through that again, and told the court Girard never expressed any concerns or pain regarding her teeth.

Dahl testified she discussed Girard’s health with her mother, who she said worked as a caregiver for seniors with Down syndrome, but later in cross examination said she was aware her mother had no medical training.

Dahl testified Girard began showing less interest in food in 2018 and had less energy, and told the court she was hoping in her own mind this was “not her time” and the idea of palliative care “scared the hell out of me for Flo.”

“I could not do her that disservice at all,” Dahl told the court. “I’m looking after her all these years, and then when she needs me the most, she gets taken to die somewhere else in a place she doesn’t know.” 

Dahl previously testified that, on the night before Girard was found dead, she had been trying to give her fluids, and told the court Girard had smiled at her and said “I’m OK.”

At one point, defence lawyer Glen Orris asked Dahl why she didn’t call an ambulance for Girard before her death.

“For her to be put through that, knowing her history, knowing who she is and how she would respond, I could feel what she would feel, what she would go through,” Dahl said. “That’s not how I wanted that moment to be for her.”

In cross examination, Dahl disagreed with previous testimony from workers at Kinsight, the non-profit that oversaw the home share, that she had never discussed Girard’s deteriorating health other than memory loss.

Dahl testified she had requested a meeting in September 2018, but was told the worker assigned to the file at the time was going to be away for a time undergoing surgery. She also told the court she made others aware of Girard losing interest in food.

Prosecutor Jay Fogel repeatedly asked about when and how Dahl shared that information, asking for details on timeframes and methods of communication.

Fogel: I’m going to suggest to you that at no point did you ever tell anyone from Kinsight that Flo was showing less interest in food, specifically.

Dahl: I indeed did…I indeed did pass on the information.

Fogel pressed Dahl, asking her exactly when that information was passed on. Dahl did not provide a specific answer, but testified every detail about Girard at any given time in her life was passed on to Kinsight.

“Nothing was missed. Nothing was not discussed…that was my responsibility to pass that on. And that’s what I did. Always. All the time,” Dahl said. “Whether it’s in person or it’s over the phone, whatever concerns I had, I passed on to them.”

Fogel also suggested Dahl did not send biannual reports about Girard to Kinsight in 2017, or 2018. Dahl disagreed.

Two witnesses who worked at Kinsight also previously testified Dahl had never mentioned any issues taking Girard to medical appointments.

Last week, former Kinsight employee Krista Maniezzo testified she noticed Girard displaying some “memory loss” after she and Dahl moved to a townhouse in 2016. She told the court there was a discussion about Girard seeing a doctor related to that issue, but added she never received an update on whether that happened.

Maniezzo told the court she last saw Girard in person on Feb. 15, 2018. She testified in the summer of that year, Girard’s file was transitioned to another worker, Shelley Macfie.

During cross examination, Orris asked Maniezzo about how home visits were initially scheduled every couple of months, but then switched to quarterly visits due to a policy change.

Orris: But you’d agree with me, would you not, that you could visit anytime?

Maniezzo: Yes.

Macfie also testified in the trial, and said she visited Dahl’s home in August of 2018 related to a new client Dahl was going to be caring for there. She told the court she did not see Girard on that visit, but had two subsequent conversations with Dahl in the following weeks about Girard.

Macfie said on Aug. 24 she made a note that Dahl told her they were all getting over a flu and Girard was being given Ensure and soups.

She told the court she checked in again in September and made a note that she was told Girard was still on the mend and drinking Ensure.

Dahl’s testimony is set to continue on Tuesday.