Mother of 13-year-old 'loving, kind-hearted' overdose victim regrets not getting her day in court
Presley Wilchuck, 13, died of fentanyl overdose in January
Presley Wilchuck loved going to the beach and playing football. The 13-year-old girl had big dreams and wanted to become a hot rod mechanic.
"She was the most amazing kid. She was ambitious. She loved her sport. She wasn't scared to go out and do anything new," said Wilchuck's mother, Rheanne Fazakas. "She was just so kind-hearted. She was just a loving, goofy little girl."
But the girl's life was cut short when she overdosed in January at a home in Regina.
Now Fazakas is speaking out and calling for change after six gruelling months spent looking for answers about what happened to her daughter.
Fazakas said she was close with Wilchuck. Their mother-daughter relationship was entering the phase where they were becoming good friends and confidants.
She had a split-custody agreement with Wilchuck's father. The teen spent half of her time in Regina with her father, where she went to school, and the other half with Fazakas in Buena Vista — a village about 50 kilometres northwest of Regina.
Fazakas said her daughter matured quickly while going to school in Regina. Wilchuck began spending time with a group of older teens, who were between the ages of 15 and 17.
Fazakas felt the people in the group were bad influences on her daughter, so she transferred Wilchuck to a new school for Grade 8.
"But she couldn't click with any other children her age ... she found it hard that a lot of them were less mature than her."
And so, the 13-year-old's relationship with the older friend group continued. They were known to smoke pot, skip school, break rules and display other "troubling" behaviour, Fazakas said.
"She was so vulnerable, you know, pretty easily persuaded to do these things."
What happened before Wilchuck died
On the night of Jan. 8, 2023, Wilchuck's father dropped her off at a home on the 600 block of King Street in Regina.
She had said it was a friend's house.
Three days later, Fazakas learned her daughter had not been seen by her family since that night.
After frantically calling around and searching the internet for information about Wilchuck's whereabouts, Fazakas filed a missing person report with the Regina Police Service on Jan. 12, 2023.
"Officers began to investigate her whereabouts and this investigation led them to several locations," Regina police Supt. Trent Stevely told CBC News.
On Jan. 13, 2023, officers followed a lead to the home on the 600 block of King Street — the home where Wilchuck had been dropped off just a few days prior.
"There was no answer when [officers] knocked at that time in effort to locate the female. Less than 30 minutes later they were dispatched to the same address on King Street for a report of an apparent overdose," Stevely said.
I just dropped right there. Dropped to my knees. Like, I couldn't breathe. It was definitely the worst day of my life.- Rheanne Fazakas, Presley Wilchuck's mother
"There were two people inside the home at the time of our arrival and one of those people was the victim, a 13-year-old female."
When police told Fazakas that Wilchuck had died, her whole world shattered.
"I just dropped right there. Dropped to my knees. Like, I couldn't breathe. It was definitely the worst day of my life."
Man, 23, primary suspect in death investigation
Police told CBC that the other person who was in the King Street home when Wilchuck was discovered dead was the primary suspect in the death investigation.
Fazakas said she learned that the suspect was a 23-year-old man who had connected with her teen daughter online.
"Somehow online … he found her — a vulnerable little girl — and said, 'You can make some money,'" said Fazakas.
The mother said the man had suggested her daughter get involved with selling drugs.
"This was definitely a drug house. There's different drugs going in and out of that house, different people going in and out of that house, and he found Presley and sucked her in."
Kayla DeMong said she's heard several stories that are similar to what happened to Wilchuck. She is the executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction, a non-profit organization in Saskatoon that supports people who use drugs.
"We know, for as far as things go back, that the idea of men using drugs as a way or part of preying on younger girls is not new," DeMong said.
She said the situation is more dangerous now because "drugs in our province are becoming more and more poisoned with fentanyl, which heightens the risk of death."
The Saskatchewan Coroners Service said that between Jan. 1 and May 31 of this year, there were 181 suspected overdose deaths in the province. The opioid crisis has been ongoing for years in Canada, but data shows the situation has been getting progressively worse in Saskatchewan.
We know for as far as things go back that the idea of men using drugs as a way or part of preying on younger girls is not new.- Kayla DeMong, Prairie Harm Reduction
Fazakas said that before Presley's death, she didn't know just how prevalent drugs were in Regina schools.
Children can get sucked into bad situations because they want to be a part of a group, DeMong said.
"We know that whether or not it's the most well-adjusted youth making all the right choices — peer pressure and the pressure to be 'a part of' is a huge factor in development," said DeMong.
"And so when we see youth who fall into situations where there are drugs being prevalent, when there are older men preying on younger girls, it just seems exotic and fun. You feel like you have to be 'a part of.' And that's where it becomes so incredibly dangerous for young girls."
Justice for Presley Wilchuck
Wilchuck's official cause of death was ruled an overdose involving fentanyl.
Fazakas said she wanted to see the 23-year-old suspect charged in connection with Presley's death right away, but she was told that the process was expected to take many months.
Police would not tell CBC what charges they were pursuing against the suspect at that time. In mid-June, police learned the suspect had also died of an overdose.
"About an hour and a half later, after [police] found out about the suspect's death, they got the call that they could go through with the charges that they were asking for," Fazakas said.
The mother said she was angry to hear the suspect had died, because there had been no justice for her girl.
"I really wanted that day in court," Fazakas said.
"I never got to have that day where I could have looked him in the eye and … [told] him exactly what I felt about him, what he did to our family and what he did to her friends."
Fazakas said she feels the process with the justice system took much longer than it should have.
She is calling on different levels of government to make pressing charges in cases of drug trafficking more efficient.
"It'd be nice to see the process going a lot quicker in other cases for justice to be served for other families."
Calls to strengthen drug laws
She also wants to see existing drug trafficking laws strengthened.
CBC News asked the Saskatchewan government what its stance is on strengthening laws around drug trafficking to minors.
The province said illicit drug use and drug trafficking fall under federal jurisdiction, but "Saskatchewan would be supportive of and encourages the federal government to consider whether existing laws could be strengthened, or new ones created, to further protect minors."
I want people to remember that she was just a little girl.- Rheanne Fazakas, Presley Wilchuck's mother
CBC News has reached out to the federal Ministry of Justice for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Fazakas said she won't stop trying to make changes, so that other children don't experience what Wilchuck did. She's focused on moving forward for her daughter.
There are dark days where she breaks down, but she keeps going.
"Presley wouldn't want to see me crawl in a hole and die. She wants to see me still live, live for her, tell her story, keep her memory alive," she said.
"I want people to remember that she was just a little girl. That she was just a regular kid that still liked hanging out with her friends, learning new things and just growing up and trying to figure her own self out."
If you are struggling with substance use or having a mental health crisis, help is available.
For an emergency, call 911.
Call HealthLine 811 for 24-hour health and mental health and addictions services. It is staffed by registered nurses, psychiatric nurses and social workers.
Contact your mental health clinic.
Call Counselling Connect Saskatchewan for free access to rapid access counselling sessions.
Call an emergency crisis hotline.
Call Kids Help Phone for professional counselling, information and referrals. Phone 1-800-668-6868, text CONNECT to 686868 or chat online. It's confidential, free and available 24/7.
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