'Flawed from the very beginning': Retired B.C. coroner blasts handling of 2016 death investigation
A retiree who spent years investigating deaths for the BC Coroner's Service has sent the agency a scathing letter over its handling of the suspicious death of a woman whose body was recovered from Okanagan Lake in 2016.
RCMP recovered Arlene Westervelt's body in June, one day after her husband Bert Westervelt reported that she had drowned after their canoe tipped on a day trip.
Police initially called the death a tragic accident but Arlene's sister Debbie Hennig said she suspected there was more to the story right from the start.
"The very people that I thought were going to help me have failed me," Hennig said in an interview with CTV News.
Within days of the body being discovered, BCCS released it without conducting an autopsy.
"Any kind of water-related drowning fatal should be autopsied. There should be no question," said Maureen Wint, who retired from the BCCS in 2004.
Wednesday, Wint sent her letter to Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe and cc'd Premier David Eby and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.
"The original investigation by the BCCS was flawed from the very beginning," Wint wrote before calling for an inquest into Arlene's death.
Police did eventually launch a homicide investigation into the death and in April 2019 Bert was charged with second-degree murder.
Just 15 months later, citing new evidence that reduced the likelihood of a conviction, the Crown stayed the charge.
Bert has always maintained his innocence.
BCCS did eventually conduct an autopsy, but not before Arlene Westervelt's body had already been embalmed, possibly compromising some of the evidence.
“The anatomical findings at autopsy could not confirm or rule out death by drowning," the coroner's report concluded.
"I therefor classify the manner of death as undetermined and make no recommendations.”
'NO ACCOUNTABILITY, NO CLOSURE'
Wint believes an inquest is the only way to get all the facts in the case into the public record so Arlene's family can fully understand the circumstances surrounding her death.
"At least in an inquest, people would be in a situation to testify and tell the truth and maybe they could get some really good things out of that," she said.
In April, the BCCS re-opened the investigation into Arlene Westervelt's death, but without a full inquest or a separate investigation by an outside forensic pathologist, Hennig is not confident justice will be done.
"There is no accountability. There's no transparency. There's no answers. There's no closure," she said.
Hennig said the lack of answers about what actually happened to her sister makes the holidays especially hard every year.
"You know this is the seventh Christmas that I've put up my Christmas tree without Arlene," she sobbed.
Citing the ongoing investigation, the BC Coroner's Service declined to comment for this story.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their “extremely dangerous” experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Her fiance has been in prison for 49 years. She's trying to free him before it’s too late
She was lying in bed on a Thursday morning, thinking about the man she loved, hoping to win his freedom before time ran out.
Accused of burglary at stepmother's home, U.S. senator says she wanted her father's ashes: charges
A Minnesota state senator and former broadcast meteorologist told police that she broke into her stepmother's home because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to burglary charges filed Tuesday.