Family's grief overwhelms

Photo: Contributed

It's been just over a year and a half since 27-year-old Theresa Ashley Neville was murdered in her Glenmore home, and no arrests have been made.

Her family is devastated, but the unique circumstances surrounding Neville’s death have put her parents in a precarious situation.

Len Neville says he wishes he could tell the story of his daughter’s grisly murder, but he can't as her death remains an active police investigation and her killer has yet to be caught.

Theresa’s death has caused enormous grief for Len, his wife and his other daughter, which has led them to seek counselling.

“We are having difficulty with the province regarding extra funding for adult counselling for my older daughter, my wife and myself, which is apparently legislated,” he says. “But, we have been told by the police, the ministry, counsellors and others that it is a very unique situation we are in.”

In B.C. the Ministry of Justice caps the number of counselling session that are covered for family members at 36.

Len’s wife Carol says 36 sessions is not enough, as the sessions are supposed to stretch throughout a trial as well, which could be years away and take months for a verdict.

The West Kelowna couple want to meet MLA Christy Clark to explain their situation.

“We have written letters to the MLAs and MPs on both sides of the lake. We heard back from our MPs, but no response directly from the MLAs,” said Len. “We have heard from her office, we have spoken to them a couple of times, but because of the uniqueness of the situation, we would really like to talk directly to the MLA.”

Photo: Contributed- Carol looks back at photos of her daughter.

Okanagan-Coquihalla MP Dan Albas addressed the Neville family in a hand-written letter, explaining that the matter is a provincial issue and the family should contact their MLA.

Castanet contacted Albas, who said the federal government is working on a "Victims' Bill of Rights."

“My heart goes out to them. We are trying to give them as much support as we can, but the matter they are concerned with is under provincial legislation,” he said.

Castanet also reached out to Clark's office.

The following statement was issued:

"This is a very difficult situation, and my heart goes out to the Neville family. For privacy reasons, I cannot comment on the details of specific cases.

"My office has met with the family twice and through the Ministry of Justice we have provided them with all necessary information about the benefits available through the Crime Victim Assistance Act.

"We will continue to support the family however we can in such a difficult time."

The Ministry of Justice states counselling sessions provided by the program are among the most generous in Canada.

Len hopes Clark can make an exception after she recently announced the Violence Free B.C. strategy to combat violence against women, earlier this month. 

“Given what she has said in this announcement, our daughter fits the definition and her children and family deserve some support," he said.

Theresa left behind two daughters now aged 10 and 12. The two were in the home the night their mother was murdered.

When the girls were brought to their grandparents' house, Carol says she and her husband were not provided with adequate information by the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

“We were told to apply for guardianship as soon as possible, and in our mind that was the right thing to do. However, we were never sat down, told all of our options and now it’s limited our funding options for the children.”

Carol says they are not receiving any funding from MCFD for their grandchildren, who are being raised on their pension, as well as the children's orphan benefit.

Kelowna RCMP spokesman Const. Kris Clark said: “There are families of homicide victims across the province and they are supported through the Crime Victim Assistance Program.... Their situation is unique to Kelowna, but this is a provincial program, not a Kelowna program.”