Families of Wettlaufer's victims hope 'something good might come out of this'

Arpad Horvath, one of the eight seniors murdered by former nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer, would be proud of the inquiry report released on Wednesday, proud that something good had come out his death.

"But he'd also say, 'Let's kick some more ass. Let's get things going. Let's not wait till next year, let's do it now, let's get it done,'" said his emotional son, also named Arpad, shortly after the release of the report.

"I think everybody has the same hope that something's going to come out of this. Even if it's not a lot at first, just something, anything."

His father had been a resident of Meadow ParkLong Term Care in London Ont., where he was killed by Wettlaufer in 2014. She injected him with a fatal overdose of insulin, the method bywhich she killed all her victims.

It was an emotional day for Horvath and several of the victims' familiesand friends who came to the Holiday Inn Express in Woodstock, Ont., for the release of Justice Eileen Gillese's four-volume report, theculmination of the Public Inquiry into the Safety and Security of Residents in the Long-Term Care Homes System.

Yet many are hopeful that some real changes will be implemented that will prevent a similar tragedy.

It was particularly emotional for Beverly Bertram, whom Wettlaufer attempted to murder at her own home in 2016 with a lethal injection of insulin.

'I got a lot of emotions'

"I got a lot of emotions, and not all of them are good," she said, sitting in her wheelchair. "So I'm just trying to stay positive and upbeat."

"I still have nightmares, I still don't like people coming in my house. I have no friends except for my workers because I don't trust people at all.

"But I don't know if that will ever go."

However, Bertram said she hopes the report may give some peace of mind to those who may be fearful of living inlong-term care facilities.

"I hope nobody has to be afraid anymore and that they can trust all their workers. Because if you can't have trust you don't have nothing."

Remembering Elizabeth Wettlaufers victims

5 years ago

Duration 2:17

Wettlaufer pleaded guilty to killing eight seniors over a decade. Here is how friends and family are remembering those victims.

The two-year inquiry was launched in August 2017to look at the events that led to Wettlaufer's offences andthe contributing factors that allowed the crimes to happen, and to make recommendations to prevent similar crimes.

Known as Canada's first health-care serial killer, Wettlaufer pleaded guilty to eight counts offirst-degree murder, along with four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault, all committed between 2007 and 2016 in the course of her work as a registered nurse. Most of her crimes were committed at the Caressant Care nursing home in Woodstock, Ont.

Serving 8 concurrent life sentences

She is serving eight concurrent life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Gillese's report made three principalfindings: that Wettlaufer would not have been caught had she not confessed; that while there were systemic failures, there were no findings of individual misconduct, and that the long-term care system may be strained, but it's not broken.

Her report made 91 recommendations, includingincreases in funding and staffing forOntario's nursing homesand improvements into how medication is stored and tracked.

She urged that counselling servicesbe made available for two years for Wettlaufer's surviving victims and their families, at no cost to them.

Indeed, the report itself was dedicated to the victims and their families, stating that their "pain, loss and grief are not in vain" and will serve as a catalyst for improvements to the long-term care system.

The killings have had a significant impact on family members of the victims, who, as the report summarized, "continue to struggle with feelings of sadness, anger, guilt, grief, anxiety, fear, depression and betrayal."

'Buried my father so many times'

"We buried my father so many times now," said Daniel Silcox, whose father James Silcox, a Second World War veteran suffering from Alzheimer's disease and diabetes, was killed by Wettlaufer in 2007.

"It'sbeen really tough. It's a part of everyday life, this discussion, and I wish it would settle down. And maybe now with the inquiry report settled, things might settle down and we'll get some sort of closure."

For his sister, Joanne Birtch, the report does represent a certain amount of closure, but now it'sa matter of whether the government will "step up" and take on a leadership role.

"I think if the government, nursing homes, take it seriously, take advantage of the work that's been done, the resources that have been spent, we are going to make some serious changes," she said.

Her brother was also pleased with the recommendations and work done, and praised a private meeting held with the family members and Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton shortly after the commission's news conferences.

"They gave us very solid assurances that we're going to see some change.How much change, how much is going to be adopted from the report? Anybody knows. But I thinkwe did not waste our time coming here and [we're]looking forward to some good positive change."

The commission had set up two rooms for the release of the report, one forthe media and the other for the family members and their lawyers.

'Can't go through that again'

Laura Jackson, whose friend Maurice Granat was killed by Wettlaufer in 2007 at Caressant Care, said she couldn't read the section in the report about him.

"I can't go through that again."

But she was pleased with the recommendations.

"If they put 50 per cent of what's in that report into actual, real tangible change, then I think something good might come out of this."

"Our world was torn apart when we found out he was murdered and now, if one person's life is saved by these recommendations, then Maurice can rest in peace. "

While praisingGillese and the work done to produce thereport, Arpad Horvath still believes several peopleand organizations have not been held accountable.

"They all dropped the ball, in my opinion. They all had excuses."

The report will help other seniors down the road, "which is a great thing, but for my family and everybody else's family, it's too little too late," he said.