A Father Grieves After Watching Daughter Drown On Facebook Live

Grief has hit the family of a woman in Canada who died after she set up her camera to livestream herself taking a swim in a motel pool.

According to CTV News Toronto, Hellen Wendy Nyabuto, who worked as a personal support worker, drowned while swimming in a pool last week after her shift at a long-term care home in Chatsworth, Ontario. The long-term care home she was working at recently had a COVID outbreak, and she went there to assist patients, according to her friend, Alfonce Nyamwaya.

Unfortunately, according to CNN, her harrowing death was caught live on Facebook and posted on TikTok as her family and friends watched in horror as Nyabuto struggled to stay afloat in the water. She reportedly jumped into the deep end of the motel pool.

Several hours later, her body was discovered at the bottom of the swimming pool.

The 23-year-old’s father, Nyabuto John Kiyondi, 56, recalled viewing his daughter die in real-time.

“I watched that video. I cried. It is terrible,” he told CNN from Kenya.

“She communicated with me two days before she perished. She sounded very fine, and I was very happy. She promised me a phone. I didn’t feel anything abnormal,” he said.

Nyabuto has lived in Canada for three years with her brother, Enock.

“All the financial responsibilities (of their family in Kenya) were on her,” Enock said.

A GoFundMe page was started to assist with funeral and burial costs for the family.

“On Thursday 18th August, Hellen was enjoying an afternoon swim when she tragically drowned.
Hellen lived in Toronto and worked a temporary job in Collingwood, but her family lives in Kisii.

“We are soliciting your generous donation to repatriate her body to Nairobi, Kenya as per the wishes of our family. The cost to repatriate the body is approximately $50,000.

“Your generous contributions towards this cause are highly appreciated as we go through this extreme circumstance of losing a loved one.”

The family has since reached their GoFundMe goal.