Funeral held for girl who died in Edmonton group home

A funeral was held Tuesday for an eight-year-old girl who died in an Edmonton group home just over a week ago.

The girl, who was developmentally delayed, died in her sleep. She cannot be named because Alberta law prohibits the identification of children in government care.

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Her mother — who also cannot be named — is in agony because she tried to get her daughter back.

“Guilt, anger, sorrow, tears,” she told CBC News outside the funeral home. “Complete sadness.”

The girl was taken from her mother a year ago. By the time she died, the child had lost nearly half her weight, her mother says.

“She just was angry, plain out and out angry on several occasions,,” the woman said.

“My daughter would say to me, ‘Mommy I'm angry I don't wanna be here.  I don't like these people. I wanna come home.’”

Last night, about 40 people took part in a candlelight vigil to mark the deaths of hundreds of Alberta children who had some contact with the child welfare system.

Organizer Bernadette Iahtail, from Friends of Children in Care, wants to form a support group for parents whose children have died.

“I know that parents that go through that, a lot of the time they feel alone, they feel that they're not heard and they feel unsupported,” she said.

The grieving mother says she would welcome the chance to talk to others.

“That would definitely help me to have the strength of other parents and families around me that have been through this,” she said.

The child’s body will be cremated Wednesday. The mother says she will continue to try and get answers to why the girl died.