Daughter of Indigenous woman slain with trailer hitch dies from leukemia

Serena Jane Kentner was 16 when her mother, Barbara Kentner, was hit by a trailer hitch in the stomach while walking down the road with her sister in Thunder Bay.

The heavy metal object was thrown from a moving car by Brayden Bushby, a who was out joyriding with friends. Suffering severe damage to her internal organs, Kentner died months later, in July 2017, at age 34.

Bushby was found guilty of manslaughter in a judge-only trial in 2020 in Thunder Bay, Ont. The case drew criticism for how the justice system treats Indigenous victims after Bushby's second-degree murder charge was downgraded to manslaughter and aggravated assault.

He was sentenced in June 2021 to eight years in prison for what the judge described as a misogynist, thrill-seeking and callous attack.

Superior Court Justice Helen Pierce said it was not a racially motivated crime, that Bushby did not know Kentner, of the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway First Nation, was Indigenous. He attacked her because she was female, and disposable, the judge said.

Serena, who had been diagnosed with leukemia before the trial, gave a moving victim impact statement at the sentence hearing.

Court heard that she became depressed and had difficulty completing high school after her mother's assault and subsequent death.

She said she struggled through cancer treatment without her mother by her side.

“Now when I'm out and about and see other people with their mother, it makes me mad because I wish she was here,” she wrote in a statement read out in court.

“She was my best friend, I was able to tell her everything and anything. Now that she is gone, it is just me.”

On Monday, May 2, Serena passed away from her illness at age 21. Gofundme campaigns had been started for the Kentner family and for Serena, to raise money for her treatment.

The funeral will be held Saturday at the Wabigoon Lake First Nation, near Dryden, Ont.