Elijah-Iain Beauregard with B.C. musician Merkules.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Merkules
October 24, 2020 - 8:53 AM
The grandfather of a Penticton teen who was killed while living in Kelowna wants to memorialize his life and is asking others to chip in and help with that endeavour.
"My Grandson Elijah (Beauregard) was murdered on the streets of Kelowna B.C. He was only 16 and had lots to give, but his life was cut short," Garner Stone said in a GoFundMe.
"Eli spent most of his childhood in Penticton, he was a skateboarder and spent a great deal of his time at the Penticton Skate Park. I am hoping that his many friends and family who loved him greatly will help to install a memorial bench as a tribute to him."
Stone said it would mean a great deal to have a bench as a memorial, particularly if it was before Christmas as Eli was born on Christmas Eve.
"This has been a tough year for everyone, let's end 2020 on a good note," he said.
Beauregard was fatally stabbed in downtown Kelowna June 27, 2019, and on Feb. 21, an unnamed woman was taken into custody by the Kelowna RCMP Serious Crimes Unit. BC Prosecution Services laid a charge of manslaughter.
"The teen has been remanded into police custody until Monday, Feb. 24 where she will appear before the Youth Justice Court in Kelowna," Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy said in a press release earlier this year.
"Her name will not be released as she was a youth at the time of the offence and is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act."
No further information can be released as the matter is now before the courts, Noseworthy added.
Eli had been living on Kelowna’s streets and finding refuge in the youth shelter on Richter Street for about three months when he was attacked.
Robyn Beauregard, Eli's dad, had been told that Eli was with some friends, who were homeless, and they were hanging out near the parking garage at BMO when he was stabbed.
He initially heard it was a superficial injury but when he got to the hospital, he realized that Eli was in much worse condition. He’d been put into a medically induced coma and his arm had to be amputated.
Shortly thereafter, he said, they learned that Eli suffered extreme brain damage and wouldn’t make it.
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