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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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