Barbara Kentner (August 21, 1982 – July 4, 2017) was an Indigenous woman from Wabigoon Lake First Nation who died in 2017, six months after being struck by a trailer hitch thrown at her by Brayden Bushby from a moving vehicle in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Barbara Kentner | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 21, 1982 Dryden, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | July 4, 2017 (aged 34) Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada |
| Cause of death | Infection, resulting from trauma |
| Nationality | Wabigoon Lake First Nation |
| Citizenship | Canadian |
Bushy was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years in jail.
Family life
editKentner was born on August 21, 1982,[1] in Dryden, Ontario, the eldest[2] of four sisters to truck driver[2] father Roy Boucher and mother Mildred (née Maude) Kentner.[3] She grew up in Thunder Bay and had four half-siblings.[3] Kentner was Anishinaabe[4] and from Wabigoon Lake First Nation.[5] She had had two sisters[6] and a daughter, Serena Jane Kentner, who was 16 years old in January 2017.[3] Her daughter had acute myeloid leukaemia and had a bone marrow transplant in 2020.[3] Kentner's father died of a heart attack in 2002 and her mother died of cancer in 2004.[2]
Kentner lived with liver disease and lived in a palliative care facility.[7]
Events of 29 January 2017
editAt approximately 1am[2] on 29 January 2017, 18-year-old Brayden Bushby was in the passenger seat of a vehicle driving on McKenzie Street in the south side area of Thunder Bay.[5] Three other friends were in the vehicle,[8] and Bushby was intoxicated with alcohol,[5] after spending the day drinking straight whisky.[1] Bushby is white.[8]
Kentner, and her three-years-younger[2] sister Melissa, were walking down McKenzie Street towards a relative's home[2] when Bushby threw a metal trailer hitch, which struck Kentner in the abdomen.[5] Bushby exclaimed "got one" after the hitch struck Kentner.[5] Kentner was 34 years old at the time of the attack.[8] The incident ruptured her small intestine.[8]
Death
editKentner died on July 4, 2017, at St. Joseph's Hospice[2] in Thunder Bay as she received surgery to tackle an infection from the injury.[5] Kentner's lawyers stated that the infection that was caused by the blunt force trauma of the attack.[8]
Post-death events
editBushby was initially charged with second-degree murder, but that charge was later downgraded.[8] Bushby admitted to throwing the hitch and pled guilty to aggravated assault, before being found guilty of manslaughter.[5] In February 2021,[1] he was sentenced to eight years in jail.[5]
The attack on Kentner is discussed in the Thunder Bay podcast.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Looking for Justice, Finding Betrayal | The Walrus". 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g Macdonald, Nancy (2017-06-27). "Waiting for death in Thunder Bay". Macleans.ca. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ^ a b c d Shapwaykeesic, Roxann (2021-06-07). "'I just miss my mom': Daughter of Barbara Kentner hopes sentencing will allow healing to start". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ^ "Eight year sentence for death of indigenous woman Barbara Kentner". BBC News. 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Vis, Matt (7 June 2021). "Brayden Bushby, convicted in trailer-hitch death of Indigenous mom Barbara Kentner, to serve 8 years in prison". CBC.
- ^ "Family of Barbara Kentner describe effect her death has had on them". APTN News. The Canadian Press. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ^ Fiddler, Willow (2020-11-03). "Barbara Kentner died from blunt-force trauma complications to her abdomen, pathologist says". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ^ a b c d e f "Man Who Killed Indigenous Woman by Throwing Trailer Hitch Sentenced to 8 Years". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ^ McIntosh, Emma (2018-02-15). "What's next for Canadaland's Thunder Bay podcast? | [ ] Review of Journalism : The School of Journalism". Retrieved 2022-07-12.