Slain London woman tried desperately to get help in the hours before her death
CBC
A woman allegedly killed by her boyfriend was turned away from one London shelter the day she was found severely injured in her apartment and never arrived at the second shelter where she had secured a bed, CBC News has learned.
Cheryl Sheldon, 62, died early Saturday morning in hospital after being found in her home in the housing complex at 345 Wharncliffe Rd. N., near Western Road.
George Kenneth Curtis, 44, is charged with second-degree murder. The victim's friends have identified him as her boyfriend.
CBC News has spoken to two people who confirmed that on the day before her death, Sheldon reached out to three organizations that help women flee abusive relationships. CBC News has agreed not to identify these people because it could impact their employment.
"She did everything right and she should be alive," said one person involved in the process.
Sheldon contacted the London Abused Women's Centre that Friday, who referred her to Anova, which operates shelters for people fleeing abuse. There were no beds available, CBC has learned.
Anova is forced to turn away five to seven women in crisis every day because its shelter beds are full, said executive director Jessie Rodger. These are women who meet the organization's mandate of needing an immediate, high security place to go.
"Resources are stretched, the phone is ringing off the hook, and it is incredibly difficult for all of us to be able to meet the great demand that is happening in our city and our region right now," Rodger said, who could not comment on Sheldon's specific case because of privacy laws.
CBC News has learned that Anova did referred Sheldon to Zhaawanong, a 24-hour emergency shelter for Indigenous women, where she was told she could have a spot for the night.
Sheldon never made it, said Dennis Whiteye, a director with Atlohsa Family Healing Services, which operates the Zhaawanong shelter, but said she was registered for a bed.
Friend and neighbour Louise Phillips also told CBC News that Sheldon tried to get help from the community safety unit or a community relations worker employed by London and Middlesex Community Housing (LMCH) prior to her death. Phillips said the victim had asked them to remove the man she was living with, who was not on her lease.
A spokesperson for LMCH said he couldn't comment specifically on anything related to Sheldon's death or what interactions, if any, she had with housing staff, because of privacy legislation.
"Staff are trained to recognize the different levels of urgency and follow our internal process," communications manager Matt Senechal told CBC News when asked about how emergencies are triaged.
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