83-year-old Aylmer woman found dead in house fire, police confirm

In a follow-up to a house fire that happened on chemin Klock on the morning of April 7, the Service de Police de la Ville de Gatineau (SPVG) has confirmed the death an Aylmer woman. The incident took place at around 3 am and required 40 firefighters with 14 trucks to hose down the enflamed residence located on 162 chemin Klock. According to a press release issued by the SPVG on April 16, police discovered the body of an 83-year-old woman on April 10. It added that the scene had been analyzed by investigators, the Service d’identité judiciaire, as well as an anthropologist from Toronto and a pathologist from the Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale.

Hours after the incident, Aylmer resident Cindy Lou Howard-Crites launched a GoFundMe page in support of John and Louise Howard who had just lost their home and a loved one - https://ca.gofundme.com/f/lets-help-john-and-louise. A niece of the victims, Howard-Crites said that the Howard’s are very benevolent people who have built a local reputation as selfless people with an infinite capacity to help others. “They’re people who like to give and support others more than they’re willing to take,” she said.  “So, it was something that I felt was necessary to do because they’re such a foundation in the community. People who know them understand.” 

So far, the initiative has raised more than $12,000 from 141 donors. The SPVG stated that the victim’s identity will be confirmed following an autopsy, adding that the cause of the fire remains undetermined.