The 2016 death of a Lake Country woman is being reinvestigated by the BC Coroners Service.
Earlier this week, B.C.'s Chief Coroner Lisa LaPointe directed the investigation into the death of Arlene Westervelt be reopened.
“The chief coroner has determined that it is in the public interest for another coroner to undertake a new investigation to include any new or additional information that may assist the public’s understanding of the circumstances of Arlene Westervelt’s death,” said Ryan Panton, spokesperson for the BC Coroners Service.
Arlene died while canoeing with her husband, Bert Westervelt, near Okanagan Centre in June 2016. While police said they initially thought her death was a tragic accident, Bert was charged with her second-degree murder almost three years later.
But then in July 2020, the BC Prosecution Service dropped the charge, only saying they had received “new information.”
Arlene's family and friends have been demanding an independent review of the investigation into her death ever since the charge was dropped, and they filed a civil suit against both Bert and an RCMP officer who they claim interfered with the investigation.
Arlene's sister Debbie Hennig said the recently announced Coroners' review of the death is not the independent review they've been seeking.
“While I appreciate Chief Coroner LaPointe’s willingness to allow a review, I’m afraid an internal review is meaningless as it cannot independently address questions surrounding various acts and omissions by the BC Coroner’s Service,” said Debbie Hennig.
“Given all the concerns that surround this case, the only way to ensure a meaningful independent review is for this to be done by an anatomical forensic pathologist outside of British Columbia, and not a member of Lisa LaPointe’s own team behind closed doors. An external expert pathologist can provide objective opinion that includes an honest assessment of the BC Coroner’s work and findings. Only then will justice be seen to be done.”
But Panton says the BC Coroner's investigation is “independent, impartial and objective.”
“The coroner does not have a vested interest in the outcome of an investigation but will endeavour to ensure that all relevant information is gathered and considered,” Panton said.
“The coroner’s investigation is focused on the facts surrounding the death; specifically, the identity of the deceased, and when, where, how and by what means death occurred. Coroners have no authority to assign blame or determine fault but are focused on establishing facts as supported by evidence.”
In a press release, Hennig alleges several issues with the investigation into her sister's death, including:
- the RCMP's failure to treat the death as suspicious, despite calls from her friends and family that Bert may have been responsible
- Arlene's body was embalmed before an autopsy could be performed
- a Kelowna lawyer had contacted police after her death to tell them Arlene had met with him to discuss separating from Bert
- RCMP Superintendent Brian Gateley, a friend of Bert may have interfered with the investigation
At a protest outside the Kelowna courthouse last summer, Dennig's lawyer Anthony Oliver said the initial investigation into Arlene's death was poorly done.
“Those failures begin with a shoddy investigation by a local coroner who was not medically trained and who refused to direct an autopsy in circumstances that clearly warranted it,” Oliver said.
“Those failures continued with a generalist rather than a certified general pathologist conducting the autopsy on Arlene's body, which was already heavily damaged by the accused's actions. I'm referring to his decision to embalm the body, rather than accede to my client's request for an autopsy.”
The cause of Arlene's death was never determined.
