Winnipeg girl dies awaiting heart transplant

A 19-year-old Winnipeg woman who was waiting for a heart transplant has died.

Jessica Bondar had been waiting for the transplant at Montreal's Royal Victoria Hospital after suffering life-threatening complications from the flu almost two years ago.

She died Wednesday morning after suffering a secondary stroke two days earlier, her mother Charlotte Roy told CBC News.

Roy, who lives in Montreal, said she will continue her daughter's fight to encourage people to sign organ donor cards.

Aunt charged in trust fund theft

Bondar was in the news last month when her aunt was charged with allegedly stealing money from a trust fund set up for Bondar's medical expenses.

Cheryl Matheson, 38, set up the trust fund in 2009 and made a public plea to raise money for Bondar.

Matheson was arrested on fraud charges in Winnipeg on March 23, 2011, after police said she had withdrawn much of the approximately $30,000 and used it for personal purchases.

Bondar told CBC News at that time that she and her aunt were the only two with access to the account.

She said her family would drop the charges if the money was returned, but she wanted to focus on getting better so she could travel and one day get married.