A young woman killed herself in Eastmain by burning down the police station where she was being held after threatening suicide.
Gracie Bearskin of Chisasibi was taken to the police station the morning of Sunday, Oct. 15 after a night of partying with friends. Her companions became alarmed when Gracie, 21, told them she was depressed and wanted to kill herself.
The mother of a three-year-old daughter, she had tried to kill herself twice in the last three years.
“She told people this morning was going to be the night,” said Chief Kenneth Gilpin.
When police officers arrived, “she didn’t resist. She just went quietly,” he said.
At the station, Gracie was searched for dangerous objects but somehow she managed to get a hold of a lighter. It may have been missed in the search or she may have borrowed it for a cigarette.
“We don’t know if it was an oversight,” said the Chief.
It’s not clear how she started the fire—whether she lit her clothes, the mattress in her cell or the wall.
“We still don’t know what she did,” Gilpin said.
A young woman on duty as the jailkeeper ran out for help, but within 15 minutes the police station had burned down.
At Grade’s funeral in Chisasibi on Oct. 18, Gilpin read words from a Bon Jovi song she had left behind in a note.
Grade’s daughter was taken in by her grandparents in Chisasibi.
Gilpin said a feeling of self-blame is running strong in Eastmain. “The community is going through a hard time. The jailkeeper is blaming herself. The constable on duty at the time is also blaming himself. Her friends who she told about wanting to kill herself are blaming themselves. You’ve got a whole bunch of people blaming themselves,” he said.
But he added that the SQ has investigated the incident and concluded Grade’s death was an accident Gilpin said the tragedy has pulled the community together as people do what they can to console and support each other.
