For friends and co-workers of Deborah Onwu , remembering her kindred spirit comes with a sharp pain of grief.

Five years after her death, they hope her legacy can live on in reformative change that makes the lives of other care workers safer.

“Debbie was my work sister,” said Onwu’s friend and former co-worker, Stacey Murphy-Gerlach.

Murphy-Gerlach was supposed to relieve Onwu of her shift and assume the care of 18-year-old Brandon Newman on Oct. 25, 2019.

Onwu had been working at Wood’s Homes community care facility in northeast Calgary that night. It was around 2 a.m. when Newman returned to the program, reportedly “high as a kite.”

A downstairs co-worker rushed to help after hearing a “loud commotion,” followed by Onwu screaming, “Why are you doing this to me?”

Onwu suffered 19

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