54-year-old woman with down syndrome dies

Florence Girard was 55 pounds when she starved in home-share. Her sister wants change

A coroner’s inquest into the death of 54-year-old Florence Girard begins Monday in Burnaby BC

Published January 12, 2025
Florence Girard, seen here in a family handout photo from 2006, died of starvation in a Port Coquitlam, B.C., home in 2018. A coroner's inquest into her death begins on Monday.
Florence Girard, seen here in a family handout photo from 2006, died of starvation in a Port Coquitlam, B.C., home in 2018. A coroner’s inquest into her death begins on Monday. 

The sister of a British Columbia woman with Down syndrome who starved to death in a Port Coquitlam home in 2018 says she believes more people will die if systemic changes aren’t made to how people with developmental disabilities are treated.

A coroner’s inquest into the death of 54-year-old Florence Girard begins Monday in Burnaby where a jury will hear the circumstances around how she died weighing only 55 pounds.
Her sister, Sharon Bursey, described Girard as funny and sarcastic, and someone who loved spending time with her family.Bursey said that since her older sister’s death, people have reached out to share similar stories of abuse against family members.

“It’s terrible, and I know it’s going to happen again, and we need to know why. How is it happening? Like, this is Canada,” she said in an interview Friday.

Girard died while living in the home of Astrid Dahl as part of a program for people with developmental disabilities, after her group home was shut down.

In 2022, Dahl was convicted of failing to provide the necessaries of life to Girard. Her initial 12-month conditional sentence was increased to 15 months in jail by the B.C. Court of Appeal.

The Kinsight Community Society oversaw the home-sharing service in Girard’s case, after being contracted by the provincial Crown corporation Community Living BC under the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction.

Court documents say Girard required round-the-clock care in virtually every aspect of her daily life, including being supervised while she ate.

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