Mounties arrest alleged killer of 13 yrold First Nation girl

[infocom@pro.net]

Making a political issue out of the death of a 13 year old First Nation girl on Vancouver Island . . .
http://www.turtleisland.org/discussion/ ... =2997#2997

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Mounties arrest alleged killer of 13 yr old First Nation girl

News and Comment
by Tehaliwaskenhas
Bob Kennedy,Oneida
Copyright
Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org

May 17, 2004 - Members of the Ehattesaht First Nation and their neighbours from the community of Zeballos, will be in Provincial Court today in Courtenay, on Vancouver Island.

They will be there for the first court appearance of 21 year old George Osmond, charged with the First Degree Murder of 13 year old Kayla John.

The First Nation girl was killed last month - her body was found in a bush, a day after it was reported she had not shown up for school in Zeballos.

This tragedy has struck the small community hard, twice . . . the murder of a young girl everyone knew, and then the murder charge being laid against a young man, everyone knows.

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May 15, 2004

A 1st Degree Murder charge has been laid against George Roswell Osmond, in connection with death of Kayla John of Ehattesaht First Nation.

Osmond will be appearing in Courtenay Provincial Court on Monday May 17, 2004.

He is alleged to have killed the 13 year old Nuu-chah-nulth girl, who was found dead last month, a day after she did not show up for school in Zeballos on northwest Vancouver Island.

The Mounties say Kayla John's family and friends have received a flood of calls from the Media and are not ready to speak at this time. They have asked that the Media give them time this weekend and they will have a spokesperson available with a statement in the afternoon Monday, May 17, 2004.

They have indicated this spokesperson will most likely be in Courtenay Provincial Court for the first appearance of Kayla's accused killer, and will be available for comment at that time.

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Nuu-chah-nulth girl found dead!

News and Comment
by Tehaliwaskenhas
Bob Kennedy,Oneida
Copyright
Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org

April 30, 2004

The Mounties confirmed the death of 13 year old Kayla John of Ehattesaht First Nation, is a homocide.

Port McNeill RCMP and Vancouver Island District Major Crime investigators are still in Zeballos where Kayla was found dead this week.

An autopsy provided police with proof of a homocide death, but details are not being released, " . . .in order to protect the integrity of the investigation", according to a news release.

It said many members of the community have come forward with information which police are actively pursuing.

Police are interested in speaking with anyone who had any interactions or conversations with Kayla in the days prior to her death.

A search was launched when Kayla didnt go to school Monday morning.

Her body was found in a bush in Zeballos Tuesday.

Victim Services and grief counselors continue to work with the family and the community as they deal with this tragedy.

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April 29, 2004

The Mounties are investigating the suspicious death of 13 yr old First Nation girl in a remote small community on the west coast of Vancouver Island

News and Comment
by Tehaliwaskenhas
Bob Kennedy,Oneida
Copyright
Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org

Ehatis and Zeballos, remote communities on the west coast of Vancouver Island, are in shock.

Six counsellors were sent to the local school, after parents, students and teachers were stunned by the news from the RCMP. After the body of a young Nuu-chah-nulth girl was located in a wooded area, behind a sub-division, she was identified as Kayla John - Kayla Nichola Shieann John, of Ehattesaht First Nation.

On Monday, Port McNeill RCMP received a call from Zeballos that a 13 year old girl had gone missing, and that a ground search conducted by family and friends failed to find her.

Kayla John did not show up for school, and that sparked an immediate search.

( Photo of Kayla John http://www.turtleisland.org/images/kaylajohn.jpg )

On Tuesday, the search intensified with assistance from local residents, Port McNeill RCMP, media and RCMP Air Services. At approximately 2:00 pm, the body of a young female was found in a residential area in the east area of Zeballos.

Investigators immediately cordoned off the area and secured the scene. Major Crime Section, Forensic Identification Section and Police Dog Services all from the Campbell River and Courtenay area were called to assist at the scene.

The RCMP are treating this as a suspicious death, and are engaged in an active and ongoing investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.

Anyone who has any information that may assist the police are urged to contact the local RCMP. Please direct any calls to Cst. Michelle HALLAM on cellphone 250-949-1517. Please be advised, cell phone coverage is sporadic so you many need to leave a message and have your calls returned.

There are many Ehattesaht First Nation people related to, and friends of those in the area, and because Zeballos is so small, the village has been described as one big family - and an extended family for Kayla John, and her death has had an impact on everyone in the community of 250 people.

[infocom@pro.net]

Investigation of Child Abuse Complaints . . .

Making the Death of Kayla John a Political Issue . . . leader of the Opposition's questions prompt accusation by BC Children's Minister Christy Clark . . . " I know that offering these facts for the member will not dilute her urge to make this a political issue, but those are the facts. I think it's important that while the community grieves and while the RCMP operation is ongoing, we make sure that we…discuss this in light of the facts that are before us."

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Oral Questions

BC Legislature
May 17, 2004

INVESTIGATION OF CHILD ABUSE COMPLAINTS AND DEATH OF KAYLA JOHN

J. Kwan: In his report into the death of Matthew Vaudreuil, Justice Gove recommended that all reports of child abuse or neglect should be investigated regardless of the credibility of the reporter and regardless of whether there have been previous investigations of similar incidences — recommendations that I should say the government, when in opposition, supported wholeheartedly.

The tragic death of Kayla John in Zeballos has touched us all. To date, officials at the Ministry of Children and Family Development have not said whether they undertook an investigation into complaints about potential abuse of Kayla John. All officials have said is that they take more stock in complaints from people who have direct contact with the family than in anonymous complaints. Kayla's stepfather called the Ministry of Children and Family Development 14 times in the last year to inform the ministry that Kayla was being abused. Can the Minister of Children and Family Development tell British Columbians what actions her ministry took to follow up on those warnings?

Hon. C. Clark: The death of Kayla John is a tragedy not just for that small community, but it's a tragedy that every single parent across British Columbia feels acutely. It's particularly true in a small community like Zeballos, where everybody knows everyone else and where there is a strong sense of parents supporting one another. So first I'd like to offer my condolences to Kayla's family and to her extended family and the community, which included, I think, everybody who knew her. It would have included her teachers. It would have included her neighbours. It would have included everybody who had any contact with her.

Second, I'd say this. The police investigation is still ongoing, and I wouldn't want to say anything that would jeopardize the investigation. I know that everybody who loved that little girl wants to make sure justice is done in that situation, so I don't want to say anything that would in any way affect the investigation.

I can certainly say this, though, to the member. The ministry follows up all suggestions of abuse or where a child is at risk, no matter what source the complaint comes from. Our social workers on the front lines do all they can to try and make sure we don't leave any stone unturned when there is an allegation that any child in British Columbia is put at risk.

Mr. Speaker: The member for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant has a supplementary question.

J. Kwan: One death is too many. In this instance, the death of Kayla John is one that I think the members of the community will remember and the families will remember, and we hope, certainly, that the government will take the right steps in addressing the issue.

Now, before the last election, the now Minister of Children and Family Development said she supported Judge Gove's call for a substantial increase in the number of front-line workers in the ministry. The reality is that after the election, the minister and her predecessor presided over a dramatic cut — a reduction in the number of front-line workers across the province. On the Island alone we know that at least 30 front-line workers have been reduced.

In order to cut those positions, the government overhauled investigative procedures to ensure that fewer investigations were undertaken in the first place. Can the Minister of Children and Family Development tell us if the Kayla John case received a full investigation by the ministry officials, or was the matter put on the back burner because of budget reductions and staffing cuts?

Hon. C. Clark: The member's suggestion is just wrong. Our ministry takes all of the concerns that are brought to it incredibly seriously. Social workers on the front line of this ministry don't ignore complaints that have come forward, and we continue to investigate the complaints that come forward to this ministry. I think we talked about this extensively in estimates as well — that the way we go about judging whether or not an investigation is warranted hasn't changed.

One of the things that has changed, though, in this ministry is that the number of children who are coming into care of the government has dropped. We are the

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only province in Canada that's managed to change the culture of social work so that social workers are using the range of the skills that are available to them and that they're trained for to ensure that we continue to support families where children are not at risk in those families.

[1430]

Rather than removing a child from the home as a first resort, which was certainly the culture of this ministry for many years — and I think social workers would often say it wasn't the best practice — we are changing the practice. Provinces across the country and jurisdictions across the world are looking to what we've done to see how they can also contribute to try and better support families, to build family support, to make those places safe places for children.

Mr. Speaker: Member for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant has a further question.

J. Kwan: The stepfather reported to the ministry 14 times on the issue of alleged abuse. Is the minister saying that the stepfather was wrong?

Last year the former Minister of Children and Family Development developed "a workload reduction strategy." That strategy involved farming out reports of moderate abuse or reports of likelihood of physical harm or sexual abuse away from trained investigators, handing them to community agencies instead. The former minister assured British Columbians that the government's number one priority was still to investigate and protect abused children.

The death of Kayla John raises serious questions about how the ministry handles investigations into reports of abuse and neglect. This minister admitted during estimates that they don't investigate every case.

Can the Minister of Children and Family Development assure British Columbians that she has ordered a full administrative review into Kayla John's tragic death to determine if Justice Gove's recommendations have been followed or ignored?

Hon. C. Clark: I can assure the member that Justice Gove's recommendations have been, as she knows, fully embraced by the ministry. We need to make sure that the lessons we learned from the tragic death of Matthew Vaudreuil are learned and honoured and always respected in our practice.

I can't tell the member if the ministry was involved with the family, because that would be a violation of their privacy rights. I can't tell her whether or not we were even able to respond to phone calls if they were made. But I can tell her, in general, this — that front-line social workers do respond to complaints where they're made and that we certainly make sure that where those complaints come from someone who has direct knowledge of the family, those complaints are acted on.

Now, one of the things that this ministry has done….

Mr. Speaker: Thank you.

Hon. C. Clark: I'm sure I'll get another opportunity to answer.

CHILD PROTECTION
SERVICES IN ZEBALLOS

J. MacPhail: The minister knows very well that the Gove recommendations are not in force now under her government. There are not resources to enforce the Gove recommendations. The community of Zeballos is in crisis. It's isolated and economically depressed. The social order is breaking down — they themselves say that — in a climate of deprivation, poverty and serious dysfunction.

If the ministry had investigated the stepfather's complaints — over a dozen of them from Kayla John's family — the government would have been well aware of the situation developing in Zeballos. It would have known about the all-night drinking parties involving adults and kids as young as 13. It would have known about the kids roaming the streets when they should have been in school. There are not front-line workers investigating circumstances in Zeballos. If the government had known about the conditions in Zeballos, it could have acted. It could have put resources in place to support the community through some very wrenching transitions that it's been going through.

Zeballos is not the only community going through this. Resources to support families without any….

Mr. Speaker: Hon. member, thank you. It's time for the question now, please.

J. MacPhail: Can the Premier tell us what, if any, action his government is taking to focus more resources on protecting children in Zeballos now that we have all the details? What is his plan to help the whole community of children in Zeballos through this time of trial?

Hon. C. Clark: It's important to remember that it's not true that we have all the details. There is a police investigation ongoing. As long as that investigation is ongoing, they will be gathering information. It's just simply not true to say that we do have all the details and to speak about them as though the investigation is complete and all of the answers have been made public. To do anything else would be irresponsible.

[1435]

Our ministry has been working hard to engage communities in making decisions about how we protect kids. Part of the change in practice that we've worked through has meant that there has been 15 percent fewer kids coming into the care of the ministry. That's contrasted with only a 10 percent reduction in the number of social workers who are working out there. Using the workload management tool that the previous government implemented, we've actually

[ Page 11144 ]

seen a smaller workload burden on individual social workers, on average, across the province.

What happened in Zeballos is a tragedy. We need to respect the privacy of the family. We need to honour the right of the RCMP to make sure that their investigation can be done and concluded and that…

Mr. Speaker: Thank you.

Hon. C. Clark: …justice is done.

J. MacPhail: My question was about the community of Zeballos. Everyone in the community is admitting to a community in deep trouble. Kayla John is a tragedy of that community. My question was about Zeballos.

At the end of the day, it's the government's job to protect kids from abuse and neglect. This isn't about children in care; it's about children in the community being harmed. It's exactly the opposite of what the minister is claiming credit for. Unfortunately, the Premier has been far more consumed with budget-cutting, failed reorganization schemes and getting sweetheart deals for their friends than meeting their mandate. The B.C. Liberals promised more money for communities and kids, they promised administrative stability, and they promised to focus resources on clients.

Kayla John was in the community. In every case, they have not met their commitments. I ask the Premier again: given the social crisis in Zeballos, will he commit from this day forward to focus new resources on child and family protection in Zeballos? Or do the cuts to the Ministry of Children and Family Development mean that no one will have the tools to do the job?

Hon. C. Clark: I'll offer a couple of factual corrections for the member. First of all, that child was not a child who was in the care of the ministry. Second…

J. MacPhail: Exactly.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please.

Hon. C. Clark: …the number of children who have come into care of the ministry has dropped by 15 percent. The number of social workers across the province, on average, has dropped by less than 10 percent concurrently.

Third, I would say this. In Port Hardy, which is the area that services Zeballos, there have been no reductions in the number of social workers in that community.

I know that offering these facts for the member will not dilute her urge to make this a political issue, but those are the facts. I think it's important that while the community grieves and while the RCMP operation is ongoing, we make sure that we…

Interjections.

Mr. Speaker: Order, please, hon. members.

Hon. C. Clark: …discuss this in light of the facts that are before us.

[New Murder Trial Ordered]

New Murder Trial Ordered in killing of Aboriginal girl on Vancouver Island

News and Comment
by Tehaliwaskenhas
Bob Kennedy, (Oneida)
Copyright
Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org

October 2, 2007

George Roswell Osmond, the man convicted of first degree murder for killing a 13 year old Aboriginal girl on Vancouver Island in 2004, will get a new trial. Evidence against Osmond to convict him of murdering Kayla John, included a confession and DNA.

But despite the powerful DNA evidence, the judge convicted him based primarily on his video-taped confessions to police interrogators. However, his lawyer argued "for a right to have a lawyer present while under police interrogation".

In fact Osmond was allowed to speak to a lawyer for two minutes by telephone, but his lawyer argued "that it fell short of providing any meaningful access to a lawyer in this case," and was a breach of his rights. The dial-a-lawyer Osmond spoke to, was part of a toll-free 24 hour service, who instructed him not to speak to police, but did nothing to assist in getting him a local lawyer. The police didn't provide him with all the details of his rights to legal assistance.

The BC Court of Appeal ruled in favour of a new trial because, "Effective legal assistance prior to police attempts to secure a confession is compelled by the simple logic that the accused's position can seldom be retrieved after a confession. There is little point in devoting many resources in the defence of an accused (the total expenses of a legal aid defence, prosecution services, court services, and the like can be enormous) to ensure that an accused has a fair trial with all the protection the system provides, if the accused is left unprotected from the interrogation techniques of the police and is persuaded, often after many hours of questioning, to make damaging admissions".

On April 27th, 2004, the body of 13-year-old Kayla John was found in a shallow grave in the wooded area directly behind her home in the small community of Zeballos.

MORE . . .
http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/Jdb-txt/CA/ ... CA0470.htm