Wednesday, November 11, 2020 Vol. 43, No. 46
Your LOCAL Paper
Lest We Forget
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Area woman sentenced to Beaver Foundation exploring 18 years for killing husband options for Holden Lodge Moush John Staff Reporter
On Friday, Oct. 30, Holden resident Helen Naslund, 56, was sentenced to 18 years, while her son Neil Naslund, 28, got three years for assisting her in hiding the body – that went undiscovered at the bottom of a pond for nearly six years – after Naslund pleaded guilty to manslaughter. In 2011, it was the Labour Day weekend, during which the Naslund family came to know their finances would not work out for their farm located in Beaver County, near Holden. According to court documents, on hearing that the haying machine had broken down that weekend, Miles became so angry that he threw a number of wrenches at Helen, who managed the equipment store. At the Sunday dinner table, he was in a rage and cleared the entire table, throwing food and place settings to the floor. Next morning, Helen used a .22-calibre revolver and shot Miles twice in the back of the head while he slept. Preliminary investigation Tofield RCMP had arrested Helen, and two of her sons, Neil and Wesley, in Sept. 2017 in connection with 49-yearold Miles Naslund’s disappearance in 2011. Wesley was charged with accessory after the fact, and was remanded in custody for a week when he was set to appear in Edmonton Court of Queen’s Bench. Later he was released on bail. Miles was reported to the police as missing on Sept. 6, 2011, and was last seen allegedly at his rural home near Holden. She told officers he disappeared in his Chevy Cavalier with a .357 handgun, and suggested he had killed himself. Although the case was originally treated as a missing person file, the investigation by RCMP turned into a homicide investigation and involved resources and assets from the Tofield and Camrose RCMP detachments, RCMP Major Crimes Unit, and its Forensic Identification Section.
On Sept. 1, 2017, a search warrant was executed on Naslund’s farm after investigators received information that evidence of a homicide may have been found on the property. The RCMP ‘E’ Division Underwater Recovery team from British Columbia were brought in to assist with the investigation and located human remains during the search. Results of an autopsy were completed at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Edmonton, which confirmed that the remains were of Miles Naslund. Helen and Miles Naslund Born in 1964, Helen Naslund was the youngest of eight children and grew up on a dairy farm in central Alberta. At 16, she left home and went to Camrose, where she met Miles, marrying him in 1983 after courting for a few months. It wouldn’t be until two years later, in 1985, when they moved to the farm near Holden where they started a family, having three sons – Wesley, Darrel, and Neil. However, it wasn’t a happy marriage, according to an agreed statement of facts filed with Helen’s guilty plea, which outlines some of the incidents of physical and emotional abuse during their almost three decades of being married. Wesley has been vocal about his mother’s sentencing, and the abuse she endured, which drove her to kill his father. He described her as a woman who was trapped and had tried everything to calm her husband’s anger. According to Wesley, she had tried leaving and even committing suicide on several occasions, but none of them came to fruition. Justice Sterling Sanderman imposed the sentences on a joint recommendation from Crown and defence. Crown prosecutor Dallas Sopko said his negotiations with Helen’s lawyer Darin Sprake included a discussion of ‘battered woman syndrome’ as a potential defence, but he felt the evidence did not support it, and that her plea did not require her to admit she intended to kill her husband.
Moush John Staff Reporter
An important part of the Holden community, the Holden Lodge hasn’t seen a lot of occupancy in recent times, which has had the Beaver Foundation exploring options as to how they can make the current facility more viable for the area residents. “We’re trying to see whether the Lodge would be a good candidate for some of the ideas we have, and recently we were approached by the Camrose Open Door Association for using the facility as a Rehabilitation Centre,” said Owen Ligard, Beaver Foundation CAO. A Facebook post made recently (in one of the community pages) stated that ‘The Beaver Foundation is applying to the Provincial Government to make [the proposed drug treatment facility] a reality.’ Speaking to this, Ligard explained the Foundation’s objective, “That is not true. We’re just trying to see how we can use the facility for the community in a way, which will help Holden residents. Does that mean we will be having a Rehab Centre, maybe. Does that mean we will be using it as a Women’s Shelter, perhaps! At the moment, we aren’t sure.”
On a positive note, the facility is now housing a remote clinic set up by the Kalyna Country Primary Care Network (PCN). “The remote clinic is currently scheduled for once a month, which is great for our seniors living in the lodge and for community residents to book appointments,” said Beaver Foundation Chair Gene Hrabec. This remote clinic is the result of Beaver Foundation exploring options to help increase the attraction to Holden Lodge and keep the facility viable. “With the help of the Kalyna Country PCN, our seniors now have improved health services right in their home without having to organize transportation to see a nurse practitioner or physician in a different community,” Hrabec added. “We are very pleased to be working with Kalyna County PCN and Dr. Niemand to provide the remote clinic at the Holden Lodge. We hope the Lodge residents and community residents take advantage of this very positive opportunity and attract seniors to call Holden Lodge their new home! “I would like to thank you in advance for your support to keep Holden Lodge viable.”