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S5 E48 Aimee Beaulieu

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On April 1 1992, 19-year-old Aimee Beaulieu was killed in her home just outside of Nelson, British Columbia. Her twin babies died in the fire that was lit to cover up her murder.

Several months before she died, 19-year-old Aimee Beaulieu left an abusive relationship in Summerland, in BC’s interior and returned to her home in Nelson. She moved into a trailer park with her babies David and Samantha, next door to her mother Judy.

Smoke:

In the early hours of April 2, 1992, constables Fred Mansveld and Warren Webber were on patrol when they saw smoke.

Aimee Beaulieu
Aimee Beaulieu with her twins David and Samantha, 1991

Says Mansveld: “We followed that wisp of smoke to Klines trailer park and we could see smoke coming out of the trailer.” They also noticed the propane tanks nearby and immediately began to knock on the doors of the neighbouring residences. “I said ‘Ma’am we’ve got a trailer on fire next to you,’ and she screamed and said my grandkids are in there and my daughter.”

Aimee Beaulieu
Aimee, 19 and David and Samantha 4 months. Photos courtesy Myra Scott

Mansveld kicked in the door and Jamie Spence, the first firefighter on the scene, ran inside. He came back out and handed the officer an 11-month-old baby. Then he went back in and brought out the baby’s twin sibling.

Aimee Beaulieu murder
Province, April 14, 1992

The officers rushed the babies to the hospital in their police car, but they were dead on arrival.

Aimee had been strangled, the babies were collateral damage.

The deaths shook the small town of Nelson to the core. Three decades later, first responders are still deeply affected by this tragedy.

Aimee Beaulieu
Sgt Fred Mansveld, Nelson Police
The Aimee Beaulieu Transition House:

Although there was no direct evidence that domestic violence was behind Aimee’s murder, it is accepted as the underlying cause of her death. Nelson Community Services established the Aimee Beaulieu Transition house in 1995, and this May 1 will mark its 30th anniversary

Anna Maskerine was the first program director of the shelter which has helped to keep close to 25,000 women safe. She is also a survivor of domestic violence.

Says Maskerine: “The naming of the transition house in Aimee’s honour really does keep the memory of those murders alive. We say the name all the time. Even when we answer the phone, we are saying her name repetitively and we just want to keep that fresh and alive so people remember her and her children and the fact that this is still unsolved.”

Aimee Beaulieu murder
Kootenay Western Star, May 22, 2015

Femicide is increasing. In 2024, 187 Canadian women and girls were killed by intimate partner violence. Every week, a woman in this country is murdered by their current or estranged partner.

Copies of my new book, Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck, are available through my publisher Arsenal Pulp Press, or preorder from any independent bookstore across Canada

Show Notes:

Sponsor: Erin Hakin Jewellery

Music:   Andreas Schuld ‘Waiting for You’

Intro:  Mark Dunn

Related:

© All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all blog content copyright Eve Lazarus.

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8 comments on “S5 E48 Aimee Beaulieu”

When they started paying more attention to the murder of women people would ask me why I wasn’t afraid to walk any where in Vancouver. My response was: Statistics reflect that women are more frequently murdered by men they know and not by men they don’t know. I don’t know any of the men where I walk, I’m safe.

Its good they named the transition house after victims of violence. She will be remembered. too often victims of family violence are forgotten until the next time it happens. It just never stops. You’d think some of these men would figure out it is cheaper and easier to get a divorce.

This was such a devastating loss. We knew both grandmother Judy and grandfather John, seeing we went to same high school in Salmo. I would think with DNA and new investigation methods, that they could reopen this case and solve it. They will never be forgotten.❤️

Such a sad story. So nice that the transition house was named in her honour. It didn’t mention it but I’m guessing Aimee’s ex partner was a main suspect.

Our laws still favor the men and offenders.. all the way around…and in sentencing. I think many of the men who have kids with the women they kill do so because they do not want to pay child support. I escaped a violent common law situation back in 1974 with my 2 kids and never asked for a dime. I never gave any rights to him such as visitation. He had threatened to take them to the back woods of Louisiana bayou country and I would never see them again. I believe that when a man hits a woman or worse he should legally lose all rights. I am not enamored of women abusing men either. Women and kids need more help and protection from violent men. Our laws suck and do not protect women. Protection orders are a sick joke!!!

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