'I don't think it's right': Sask. woman sentenced for aggravated assault on senior
A Prince Albert man said he can start moving on, now that the woman who attacked his 89-year-old father has been sentenced. He said because of the assault, he lost both his mother and father.
Curtis Klarenbach's parents Bev and Carl were excited to start the next chapter of their lives and settle into a senior’s residence.
"It was a place where they could socialize. They could be with other people and do similar things, and it was comfortable for them," Klarenbach told CTV News in an interview on Friday.
The couple looked forward to celebrating their 70th anniversary this year, but everything changed on January 2. That evening Bev and Carl were playing games in the common area when a woman began threatening the other residents. When 89-year-old Carl tried to stop her, he was assaulted.
“He had skull fractures, a couple of brain bleeds, and a sac surrounding his brain was split so, he had spinal fluid leaking and causing pressure,” Klarenbach said.
Carl was hospitalized for four months, and Klarenbach didn't think his father would survive. Before this incident, his father was his mother's caregiver, meaning both of them would have to leave their new home, become separated and move into a nursing home. Klarenbach said his mother died of a broken heart a month after the incident.
“I think she just gave up. You spend that much time with somebody, and then you can’t,” he said.
Carl and Bev Klarenbach were married nearly 70 years before an attack left Carl in the hospital and Bev with a broken heart. (Courtesy: Curtis Klarenbach)
He said his father lost most of his cognitive abilities and has moved into a long-term care home. Carl often wonders where his wife is.
“We explain it to him and he mourns, and then we move on,” Klarenbach said.
April Ross, who was 40-years-old at the time of the incident, was charged with aggravated assault. On Wednesday, she received a four-and-a-half-year sentence, but with credit for time served, she has three years and 11 months remaining.
“I don’t think it's right," Klarenbach said.
“My dad’s in an eight by 12 room, and he will be for the rest of his life. My mom’s in an urn."
He told CTV News he’s relieved the court process is over and can focus solely on caring for his dad.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Bayer recalls hydraSense baby product over 'potential contamination'
Bayer announced Thursday it is recalling two lots of its hydraSense Baby Nasal Care Easydose due to a potential contamination.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.