Marlene Bird has died in hospital in Prince Albert, Sask., her family confirms.
Bird’s name became known nationally in June 2014 following a vicious assault in a Prince Albert mall parking lot. She had been badly beaten and set on fire. She was partially blinded, and both her legs had to be amputated as a result of her injuries.
Leslie Black, 31, was sentenced in September to 16 years in prison for the attack. He pleaded guilty to attempted murder in April..
Bird and Patrick Lavalee have been a couple, on and off, for 15 years. Not long after the attack on Bird, Lavalee resolved to sober up and care for her. (Duncan McCue/CBC)
A member of Montreal Lake Cree Nation and a residential school survivor, Bird was described as a good-natured and caring person by her family.
She had struggled with alcohol abuse and had been living a transient lifestyle when the attack took place. She was treated in the burn unit of the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton before moving to a Saskatoon hospital.
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In court documents, Bird said she lived in constant pain and discomfort. She struggled to find a home, and said she turned to alcohol to cope with the severe trauma she’d experienced.
After being released from the hospital in Saskatoon, she was moved to Prince Albert. She spent time at the YWCA homeless shelter there, then later moved to a seniors home, which could accommodate her wheelchair but charged extremely high monthly rent.
Early in 2015, several advocates teamed up to get Bird into the wheelchair accessible house in Timber Bay, 124 kilometres north of Prince Albert. There she lived with her partner of 15 years, Patrick Lavallee, until she was hospitalized earlier this week. .
In conversation with CBC reporter Duncan McCue, Bird said she liked to do sudoku and watch murder mysteries on TV. She read the Bible, and she enjoyed riding on her electric scooter with Lavallee and their dog, Schooner.
Bird, 50, is the mother of two adult children.
Bird spent months in hospital as she recovered from the attack. (Bonnie Allen/CBC)