Family of 5 living beside apartment where Baylee Wylie was murdered - Action News
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New Brunswick

Family of 5 living beside apartment where Baylee Wylie was murdered

Ashley Katzel-Leblanc says she and her four young children have been emotionally damaged by living next to the home where the murder of Baylee Wylie occurred.

Young mother of four had to flee house fire where the body of Baylee Wylie was discovered

Ashley Katzel-Leblanc wants to move her family out of her NB Housing unit. (Tori Weldon/CBC)

Ashley Katzel-Leblanc says she and her four young children have been emotionally damaged by living next to the home where the murder of Baylee Wyliehappened.

She says the NB Housing unit they occupy was damaged by water used to douse the fire in the adjacent unit that night, and she is seeking help to move out.

Katzel-Leblanc was at home asleep with her four young children in the early hours of December 17 when they awoke to a fire alarm at 4:00a.m.

It was the night 18-year-old Wylie was violently murdered in the apartment adjacent to hers. That apartment was set ablaze, according to police, by the person or people responsible for his murder.

The young family escaped safely that night, then lived surrounded by yellow police tape for a week.

Katzel-Leblanc says her 6-year-old daughter Grace saw the police remove Wylie's body in a body bag in the middle of the afternoon, and it had a lasting effect.

"She's scared to go outside, especially at night time because of what happened next door," she said.

"My son, Ryker, the middle one, wakes up every night at the same time that we got up, having night terrors. He doesn't know what went on or anything but it must have had some impact on him and my daughter wakes up with nightmares all the time."

Katzel-Leblanc says the family's emotions aren't the only thing left damaged by the tragedy that occurred next door.

The apartment is one in a triplex owned by NB Housing. She says since the fire, mould in her home has gotten much worse - she thinks - because of water damage in the adjacent unit.

"Right now there's mould in my basement, a lot of mould. It's rotting out in my bathroom, the tiles are falling off and my kids' health has been compromised," she said.

"They are all sick right now, and 10 month-old Cooper was actually hospitalized."
Katzel-Leblanc peels back a garbage bag attached to the bathroom wall, where she says the tiles started coming off since firefighters doused the adjacent apartment in December.

Four windows on the apartment next door remain boarded up three months after the fire.

There is glass from the broken windows on the front lawn near where the children play.

Katzel-Leblanc says right now all she wants is a fresh start, in a different unit.

But she says she is struggling to get help from NB Housing to moveto a new home.

She says when she asked for a move, the province told her she owes money for maintenance fees.

Katzel-Leblanc admits she did call to have workers come in for two repair calls, but she didn't know she would be charged, and says she wants an itemized bill before trying to pay it.

Katzel-Leblanc also says NB Housing once sent an inspector to her home but she wasn't prepared for anyone and couldn't have them in.

She says she asked the person to set up an appointment, but that she hasn't heard from them since.

CBC News requested an interview with Cathy Rogers, minister of social development, the department responsible for NB Housing.

The department did not respond to that request.

I want her to feel safe, safe enough to go outside.- AshleyKatzel-Leblanc

A department spokesperson sent information in an email stating in part that, "in the event of a fire, staff will assist the occupants of all units affected by the fire."

And, "if a resident feels their unit is uninhabitable, the first step would be to contact the Regional Office."

Katzel-Leblanc says she needs help to resolve this, and to make her family feel safe again.

"I want my daughter's mental health to stay well and I want her to feel safe, safe enough to go outside."