Inquest to be held into B.C. girl's death

An inquest will begin in October into the death of a three-year-old B.C. girl who was transferred from foster care only to be killed by her uncle, it was announced Wednesday.

The B.C. Coroners Service said it would hear evidence concerning Halaina Lascelle, who died on Texada Island in April 2001.

Her uncle, Douglas Boyd, was convicted of second-degree murder in the case in 2003.

Coroner Rose Stanton and five-person jury will hear evidence from subpoenaed witnesses in order to determine the facts surrounding the girl's death. The jury will be able to make recommendations for future cases.

The inquest will begin Oct. 2 at the Powell River Court.

At his trial, jurors heard how Boyd walked into his niece's bedroom on Texada Island and slit her throat as she lay in bed.

The 32-year-old Boyd had been in a psychiatric unit at Powell River hospital less than two months before the murder, and a doctor and a mental-health counsellor testified at his trial they knew about Boyd's thoughts of killing his niece.

A lawsuit filed in 2003 by the girl's mother, Donna Lascelle, alleged the government did not properly investigate the Boyds' backgrounds, parenting capacity and mental health prior to placing the child in their custody. The lawsuit was later discontinued.

Stanton said Wednesday it took five years to call an inquest because her office has been short-staffed.

Retired judge Ted Hughes recently conducted a review of B.C.'s child protection system earlier this year and concluded that deep budget cuts and constant changes in leadership had compromised British Columbia's child-protection system.

Hughes also recommended the appointment of a new, independent body to oversee the child welfare system.