Daughter of woman who died after being burned says Melissa Cook struggled

A woman from Sapotaweyak Cree Nation whose death police are investigating is remembered as a generous and caring woman who fell into drug abuse as she struggled to cope with family losses.To get more news about 国产欧美日韩精品a在线观看, you can visit our official website.

Melissa Cook, 41, died in hospital with severe burns on Aug. 20. Winnipeg police are investigating her death, which was ruled a homicide by the chief medical examiner.

"My mom was a very beautiful woman. She always had a smile on her face, no matter what," said Cook's daughter, Naturelle Cook.

The 18-year-old said Cook had a history of substance abuse, which played a role in losing custody of her children. Cook was using "on and off" when she was pregnant with Naturelle's little sister, but her use got worse as more of her children went into the care of Child and Family Services, Naturelle said.In 2013, Cook's 10-month-old son died while in foster care. A few months later, she was with her then-partner, whom Naturelle describes as "the love of her life," as he died of a drug overdose.

Cook's mother died in 2015, followed by her father in 2016."She didn't know how to handle her emotions so she turned to drugs, and she was a very heavily addicted user," Naturelle said.

Naturelle said her mother was attacked over a drug debt in June. Cook was severely burned, but was reluctant to speak about her injuries and how she got them, her daughter said. She didn't seek medical attention until late July.

The last time Naturelle and her family saw Cook was when she was in the hospital in August, but they were unable to speak to her, because Cook was in a coma.

The last time Naturelle spoke with her mother was in July 2021, when she ran into Cook outside the grocery store in Swan River. Naturelle bought her some food and asked why she was abusing drugs.She cried to me. I cried to her and I asked her, I said, 'Mom, are you going to sober up?' And she said, 'Yes, my girl.'"

Naturelle said she believed Cook was trying to seek treatment to stop her substance abuse because some months later, she got a parcel from her mother addressed to her and two of her younger siblings."It had three medallions she had made … and in her letter she kept saying, 'I'm sorry, my kids, I'm sorry.'"