Secretly recorded phone call raises troubling allegations in electrocution death of B.C. woman

A secretly recorded phone call, said to be with an RCMP member, has reignited calls for a new investigation into the disturbing electrocution death of a Fraser Valley woman and her two dogs seven years ago.

“People know answers. We’re just not getting them and it’s very, very frustrating,” said Laura Nichols whose sister Shirley Nate was electrocuted.

“You just feel like there’s this brick wall in front of you.”

Nate was walking near Kilby Park in the District of Kent on Oct. 18, 2015 when she was electrocuted. Her burns were so serious, both her arms had to be amputated. She died five weeks later.

A CTV News investigation has uncovered that the power line may have come down days before the accident and that it was allegedly reported to the District of Kent, but that no action was taken.

“I was shocked, I was shocked,” said Sarah Shupe who did not know Nate, but said she started hearing troubling information surrounding the death after she left her administration job at the Agassiz RCMP detachment.

“Everybody kept bringing up this woman who got electrocuted,” Shupe said.

THE PHONE CALL 

Shupe alleges one of the people raising concerns was an Agassiz RCMP member who investigated Nate’s death.

Shupe said that last year, she recorded part of a phone call with the officer. What that member told her was mind-boggling.

In the call, the officer alleges the downed line was discussed in a Kent public works meeting on a Friday. Nate was electrocuted two days later.

“They knew it was down. They chose not to do anything about it ‘til next week,” the officer said in the recording.

The officer said when staff returned to work after the long weekend, an emergency public works meeting was called.

“And basically tell everyone to shut the f***up, we never talked about it on Friday.”

The officer said she investigated two Kent employees for criminal negligence.

“The bigger part to me was that they tried to cover it up, right? Like you did a risk assessment, it wasn’t the right choice, but you f***ing own it.”

The officer said in the recording that she interviewed public works staff.

A report went to Crown Counsel, but charges were not approved. Shupe said the officer told her prosecutors wanted more evidence.

“Crown counsel had come back to them (the RCMP) and explained to them what was needed to further the investigation. And at that point, a senior member in the RCMP would not allow the constable conducting the investigation to move the investigation where it needed to go,” Shupe said the officer alleged.

In the recording, the officer can be heard saying, “And then I put it forward to Corp and he wouldn’t let me move it in the way I wanted to. And I never understood why. Like someone died. Why would we not try our best?”

The officer later alleges a Kent manager’s clout with the RCMP may have hampered the investigation.

“There would have been back pressure from them not to do anything, right?”

DISTRICT EMPLOYEES SPEAK OUT

A man, who CTV News agreed not to identify, was working for the district’s public works department in 2015.

He said the district knew about the downed line days before the accident.

“They knew about it and they were just going to wait until the following week and deal with it then,” he said.

“The worst part is, it’s been swept under the carpet.”

He is the third person who worked for public works to tell CTV News that the District of Kent knew about the downed line before the accident.

All three also allege that the district tried to cover up what it knew, holding an emergency meeting with public works staff.

“In that meeting, basically, we were told by management that the district knew nothing about the power lines being down and if anybody asked us about this, that we should just shut our mouths,” the worker said.

Last year, Dave Morris, a former District of Kent worker, told CTV News the same information.

“It’s been covered up. It’s been covered up,” he said at the time.

RCMP, MAYOR RESPOND

CTV News contacted the officer in the phone recording, but she declined to comment. She is now with a different detachment. CTV News also requested an interview with the District of Kent, but was turned down.

Instead Mayor Sylvia Pranger issued a statement.

“The District of Kent takes these allegations seriously and will work and cooperate with the RCMP,” the statement said in part.

The mayor said if there was new evidence, it needed to be provided to the police.

“This is a very serious investigation into the death of a woman. Any information or evidence that will assist our investigators is critical to this investigation and will be followed up on. No new information or evidence has been reported to the Agassiz RCMP,” said Sgt. Krista Vrolyk of the Upper Fraser Valley RCMP.

When asked about the audio recording, she said, “We’ve been made aware of the recording, but to my knowledge, the recording has never been provided to police so I’m unaware of the legitimacy of it.”

But Shupe said she provided the audio to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP after filing a complaint against the RCMP at the request of Nate’s family.

She showed CTV News documentation that appears to show the complaint was forwarded to the RCMP Oct. 12.

'WE NEED HELP'

Shupe said despite concerns for herself and her family, she felt she had to go public with what she had learned about Nate’s death.

“We trust the RCMP to uphold the law. In this case, I believe that the investigation was not an unbiased investigation…” Shupe said.

“It’s important to me because an innocent woman lost her life,” Shupe said.

Fighting back tears, Nate’s sister said she’s grateful for what Shupe has done.

“Her just coming out of the blue and phoning me and wanting to help our family. I don’t even know her. Just an angel…” Nichols said.

Nate’s family is calling for an outside policing agency to investigate the death.

“We need help,” said Nichols.

And they hope that help will lead them to the truth.