Family says suspect fought mental illness

A family member of an Alberta man charged with the first-degree murder of a British Columbia police officer say the accused had been struggling since losing his wife almost five years ago.

In a statement, 65-year-old Oscar Arfmann’s sister-in-law says he “was really never the same” after his wife died in April 2013.

It says Arfmann was admitted to hospital in St. Paul, a town northeast of Edmonton, in July 2015 for a mental evaluation, but he was released three days later.

Arfmann is charged in the death of Const. John Davidson in the Vancouver suburb of Abbotsford earlier this week.

The 53-year-old officer with 24 years on the job was critically injured while responding to a report of a possible stolen vehicle and shots fired at members of the public.

Arfmann’s family says it wants to extend its deepest condolences to Davidson’s family and the Abbotsford Police Department.

Arfmann remained in hospital on Tuesday and British Columbia’s civilian agency that investigates police actions resulting in serious harm or death has said it’s believed he was shot.

The statement released by Arfmann’s sister-in-law on behalf of the family says Arfmann continued to struggle with mental health issues after being released from hospital in 2015.

“Family members had tried to seek help for him but he refused to go to the doctor,” the statement says.

Hope Arfmann said she married Oscar when she was 18 but the marriage lasted less than three years because he was emotionally abusive.

The couple lived in the small hamlet of Sunnybrook, Alta., and also on a farm near Millet, where she said he would hunt small rodents and birds.