Trust fund in place for arson victim's children

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The northeastern Alberta community of Lac La Biche is helping to create a trust fund for the children of Bertha Castor, a 29- year-old Aboriginal woman who died after receiving massive burn injuries in an Edmonton house fire almost two years ago.

Castor, originally from Lac La Biche, died Jan. 20 at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, after clinging to life for more than 19 months.

For five months following the June 1996 fire, Castor remained in a coma, heavily sedated. Later, she could only communicate by nodding her head, and responding to people's gestures. She was eventually transferred from the University Hospital Burn Unit to the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, where she underwent numerous surgeries, including the amputation of both arms below the elbow.

Among the many grieving family members left behind are her two daughters, eight-year-old Megan, and Tamara, who recently turned seven. Both girls are now living with their grandmother and are attending school in Lac La Biche.

Before the fire, both daughters were living with Castor in Edmonton. Megan was at home at the time of the fire, and watched as her mother was burned. Her father, Reginald Carifielle, was able to rescue Megan from the flaming home, but could not get back into the town house for Castor.

The badly burned woman was carried to safety by firefighters and people who were attending a party at her home.

Castor's suffering is a painful memory for her family.

"It's been very hard on (the girls)," said Castor's sister, Marge. "It's sinking in on the oldest, but the youngest still thinks her mom is alive."

Another sister, Joyce, said that so far both girls have been quiet about their mother's death.

"Eventually, they'll start asking questions," she said.

That will be when the difficulty of explaining both their mother's death, and the task of reliving the experience, begins.

Castor suffered burns to almost 90 per cent of her body when the fire ripped through her north-side Edmonton town house. The blaze started in a closet in the master bedroom, where she had been sleeping. Investigators have ruled that the fire was deliberately set.

According to family members who traveled to Castor's bedside at the hospital after the accident, her burns were so severe only the jewelry she was wearing allowed them to identify her.

"The way we knew it was her was the jewelry she was wearing - her rings and earrings," recalled Marge.

The enormity of Bertha's death, coming after her long period of suffering, has been hard to handle for family members.

"We feel a sense of loss...we're lost inside, hurt and numb," said Marge. "We look at the girls and we see her."

The Edmonton Medical Examiner is continuing an investigation into the exact cause of death.

An "impasse" in the police investigation is the best way to describe the current status of the case, said Detective Richard Kracher, with the Edmonton Police Service's Arson Investigation Unit.

Because Castor died more than one year and a day after the arson, Kracher said murder charges cannot be laid if police identify a suspect in the case. The inability to prosecute for murder is a legal technicality that stems from section 227 in the Criminal Code.

Nevertheless, the investigation has been turned over to the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) Homicide Section. According to EPS spokesperson Kelly Gordon, the homicide unit is the best equipped section of the police service to investigate the arson related death.

To date, police have interviewed most, but not all, of those attending the party. Police say the remaining people have either not been identified or not been located.

"There's always someone out there who has some information, but is just not stepping forward," said Kracher.

The Bertha Castor Memorial Fund, set up by staff at the Lac La Biche Post newspaper, was started after the paper's publisher Fisal Asiff heard of the tragedy's effect on the two young girl's.

"When this lady got burned,I don't think the community as a whole, us included, realized what had happened and how much that impacted her family," said Asiff. "We all should have got together and helped. She fought for a year and half and lost, and she left behind two daughters. It's not too late to help them. I'm hoping people come out and invest in these kids' futures."

Support from schools, businesses, individuals, clubs and organizations is anticipated by Asiff. He is also counting on media coverage and support of the memorial fund.

Donations for the Bertha Castor Memorial Fund can be dropped off at the Bank of Nova Scotia, 10202-101 Ave., Lac La Biche, T0A 2C0 and the Lac La Biche Post at Box 508, Lac La Biche, Alberta, T0A 2C0.