B.C. starvation death inquest hears victim's emaciated state, poor living conditions

Starvation inquest opens

Photo: The Canadian Press

Florence Girard, seen in a family handout photo from 2006, died of starvation in a Port Coquitlam, B.C., home in 2018. The sister of Florence Girard told a coroner's inquest into her starving death in a British Columbia home that she was so emaciated when she died that she "looked like a child" in her casket. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

Florence Girard was so small when she died that she "looked like a child" in her casket, her sister told a British Columbia coroner's inquest into the death of the woman.

Sharon Bursey told the inquest jury in Burnaby, B.C., that she was ready to quit her job to take care of Girard — who required round-the-clock care — had she known the seriousness of her sister's condition.

Bursey says Astrid Dahl, who was caring for Girard as part of a program for people with developmental disabilities, either didn't answer her calls or said she would call back when she wanted an update on her sister.

Bursey says Girard was kept in a bedroom suite in Dahl's home which was blocked off by a baby gate, with a mattress on the floor and the movie "Titanic" playing in the background at all times.

The inquest heard Girard died in 2018 weighing only about 50 pounds, and Dahl was convicted in 2022 of failing to provide the necessaries of life.

The inquest is aimed at forming recommendations for B.C.'s care system to prevent similar deaths from happening in the future.

Bursey — who brought a photo to the inquest of her family with Girard sitting in the middle — has said that she is "so scared" that similar deaths will happen again if no changes to the current system are made.