Vancouver Island mother fights for justice as daughter's death reclassified as homicide

Three and a half years after her daughter's death, a Vancouver Island mother says she has received the validation she has long waited for. 

The B.C. Coroners Service has reclassified the 2021 death of 18-year-old Samantha Sims-Somerville from an accidental overdose to a homicide — an outcome her mother, Tracy Sims, says she knew to be the truth from the start.

On April 9, 2021, Sims-Somerville attended a small gathering in a Victoria residence after being brought there by an acquaintance, according to the coroner's report. 

The last photo of the 18-year-old was taken around 10 p.m., while she was on a bus en route to the gathering. In it,  Sims says her daughter looks "bright and cheerful."

Hours later, around 3 a.m., other people at the residence called 911 after Sims-Somerville and a friend were found unresponsive. 

Both teens were transported to a hospital and put under life support. The friend recovered, but Sims-Somerville remained unresponsive and died later that evening.

Although the teen's death was originally deemed an accidental overdose, recent findings from the B.C. Coroners Service reveal that Sims-Somerville and her friend were intentionally given a fatal dose of an unregulated drug called gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) — also known as the date rape drug — combined with alcohol "without their knowledge."

The chief coroner directed the investigation be reopened on March 1, 2024, after new information was made available. It had initially been concluded on Jan. 6, 2023.

"She didn't have any drug history, any history of drug abuse," Sims says. "Knowing my daughter and her character and trusting her decision-making based on how well I educated her on street smarts and drugs." 

Sims describes her daughter as a gentle and kind soul, who had a deep love for animals and an immense well of creativity, and who was an avid dancer, poet and singer.

"For anyone who is a parent, to sit and watch a child die and feel so helpless, it's the most traumatizing."  

But Sims says she didn't just sit and grieve. Driven by her belief that her daughter's death was no accident, she started doing her own research, digging through text messages, speaking with individuals present at the gathering and compiling her own investigation to share with authorities. 

"I mean, I had no choice. I was a desperate mother that needed answers for her child," she says. 

Sims has expressed frustration with the initial handling of the case, saying police did not follow up on important information.