An inquest by the BC Coroners Service will begin on Monday into the death of Florence Marie Girard.
Girard was found dead in Astrid Dahl’s Port Coquitlam home in October 2018; she weighed just 50.6 pounds.
In 2022, Dahl was convicted of failing to provide the necessities of life in connection to the death. That September, she was sentenced to a one-year conditional sentence, including 100 hours of community service followed by a year of probation.
At trial, the court heard Girard, 54, had lived with Dahl for about eight years as a part of a residential home-sharing agreement, overseen by the non-profit Kinsight Community Society.
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The court heard Dahl didn’t give Girard her prescriptions or take her to medical appointments for a lengthy period of time, that Girard’s health declined, she stopped eating and later died. The official cause of death was “malnourishment and starvation.”
A Coroners inquest is held when the public has an interest in being informed of the circumstances surrounding someone’s death and when similar deaths could be prevented through recommendations.
Donita Kuzma, presiding coroner, and a jury will hear evidence from witnesses under oath to determine the facts surrounding Girard’s death.
The jury will have the opportunity to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths under similar circumstances.
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