Caregiver, society charged after woman with disability dies in care

A caregiver and the society that hired her havebeen criminally charged more than a yearafter a womanwith a developmental disability died in their care.

The 54-year-old woman had been living with her caregiver before she was found dead in thecaregiver's home on Oct. 13, 2018, RCMP saidWednesday.

Officersinvestigated and found the woman had not received "the necessaries of life" before her death, a statement said, meaning she didn't have adequate food, shelter, medical care or protection from harm.

Mounties did not specify the woman's cause of death.

The caregiver, Astrid Charlotte Dahl, from Port Coquitlam, B.C., has been charged with criminal negligence causing death and failing to perform a legal duty to provide necessaries.

In a rare step, the society which hired Dahl as a contractor is also criminally charged. Kinsight Community Societyfaces its owncount of failing to perform a legal duty to provide necessaries.

RCMP Cpl. Michael McLaughlin said the woman who died had a "severe" disability andrequired around-the-clock care. Shehad been in care for almost all of her life.

The officer was emotional as he spokewith reporters about the case on Wednesday.

"I know my own fatherneeded full-time, 24-hour care inthe years and months before his own death. The people who took care of him were the closest I've ever met to saints. I can't imagine what the family was going through in a case like this."

Society says it's 'shocked' by woman's death

The Kinsight society said Wednesday it was "shocked and saddened" to learnof the woman's death.

The woman had been living with her caregiver as part ofthe society's shared living services.A statement from Kinsight said it hires "qualified individuals" to provide the service with clients.

"This is the first time in the 65-year history of our organization that the death of an individual receiving our services has been the subject of a police investigation and criminal charges," the statement said, adding the society has "fully co-operated" with police.

"We are confident that all care and safety provisions for those we serveare being met."

A Kinsight spokesperson said they would not confirm whether Dahl is still contracted by Kinsight for privacy reasons, but Cpl. McLaughlin said, to his knowledge, "there is no longer any care associated with the house or with Astrid Dahl."

McLaughlin said Mounties'"exhaustive" 15-month investigationinvolvedmore than 20 officers andlooked into the care thevictim received "in the years and months leading up to her death."

"This is a very sad situation. We know these charges can't bring the victim back, but perhaps they give a voice to a vulnerable person who couldn't speak for herself," McLaughlin wrote in astatement.

"As police we have a duty to protect all vulnerable people, whether they are in care or not. If you have information about neglect or abuse that could be criminal, please don't hesitate to call your police of jurisdiction."

Both Dahl and the director ofKinsight are due in court on March 9. The directorwas served as a representative of the society and is not being named because she is not charged as an individual.

McLaughlin said approving acriminal charge against a society is an "unusual" step for the Crown to take.

Kinsight is a registered not-for-profit. It receives public funding from BC Housing, Fraser Health, the provincial Ministry of Children and Family Development and the federal government.

The organization's website saidit provides services including employment and shared living inNew Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra.

McLaughlin said the RCMP has no evidence to suggest any further allegations of negligence or abuse related toKinsight.