'I believe I had checked well enough': Worker at B.C. group home where Cree teen found dead in closet testifies
Warning: This story contains details that readers may find disturbing.
A worker at the B.C. group home where Traevon Desjarlais was found dead in his closet days after he went missing told a coroner's inquest he checked the teen's room repeatedly – but there was no sign of him.
Desjarlais, who was 17 when he died in 2020, was Cree and living in an Abbotsford facility operated by the Fraser Valley Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society under contract to the provincial government.
Murray McMaster, who worked at the home at the time, said he reported Deslarlais' disappearance to the Ministry of Children and Family Development on Sept. 14, after finding his room empty.
He testified he repeatedly checked the home and Desjarlais’ bedroom, which had numerous large holes in the walls, in the days that followed.
"I went in. I looked around. I looked under the bed. I looked for any signs he had been back in there and I didn’t see any,” McMaster said, providing his testimony at the inquest by video link Thursday.
When asked if he had checked the closet, McMaster said, “I believe I had checked well enough.”
FOUL SMELL PROMTS FURTHER ACTION
But three days after the teen's disappearance, McMaster told the inquest, he noticed a smell coming from the basement.
"That’s when I started searching other areas of the house, the boiler room, under the stairs,” he testified, appearing by video link.
By Sept. 18, McMaster said it was "starting to enter my mind that he might be down there and I wasn’t finding him…That fear was in the back of my mind, yes.”
But he said he did not convey that fear to Abbotsford Police or tell them about the foul smell until they showed up at the home later that day.
Officers found Desjarlais’ body hanging in his bedroom closet shortly after arriving.
Desjarlais’ mother was at the inquest and wept as the worker testified, leaving the room at one point when she was overcome with emotion.
TEEN'S MENTAL HEALTH WAS DETERIORATING
A transcript of McMaster's Sept. 15 call to police, when he first reported Desjarlais missing to law enforcement, was also read at the inquest Thursday.
It indicated McMaster had not told them the teen was suicidal. However, earlier testimony indicated Desjarlais had made a suicidal comment the month prior.
McMaster said he called Abbotsford Police at that time, but was told they didn’t have cause to apprehend the teen under the Mental Health Act.
After that, McMaster said, Desjarlais' mental health further deteriorated.
“His behavior had become very erratic and I believe it was the reliving of trauma from events outside the home. He was struggling a lot,” McMaster said of the teen’s condition in September of 2020.
He also testified that, “I’m not trained to take somebody through trauma. I reached out for help.”
The worker said he did not believe Desjarlais was taking his medication at the time of his death and that Desjarlais had a history of going missing from the home.
An inquest into the teen's death was not mandatory, however one was ordered by the BC Coroners Service earlier this year because "there is reason to believe that the public has an interest in being informed of the circumstances."
While an inquest cannot make findings of fault, it has three main functions, according to the province: to determine the facts surrounding the death; to make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths in the future; and "to ensure public confidence that the circumstances surrounding the death of an individual will not be overlooked, concealed or ignored."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
developing Bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people. An 8-year-old child is only survivor
A bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter festival plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa on Thursday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Calgary bridges remain closed due to ongoing police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Kinew, Poilievre meet at Manitoba legislature, discuss each other's priorities
Premier Wab Kinew and federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre met at the Manitoba legislature Thursday afternoon.
Rainfall warnings of up to 80 mm among weather alerts in effect for 6 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres and other alerts have been issued for six Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.