Can you describe how your sister’s personality changed over the years before her death?
~Ken MacQueen, Maclean’s magazine (question to Melanie Hack)
She never knew when something horrible would happen so she was mostly tense and fearful and nervous…constantly looking over her shoulder and trying not to be alone. She’d have flashbacks and nightmares that left her exhausted. And after the fire in her basement [in April 1986] she was so overwhelmed and distressed that she had a nervous breakdown and stopped eating. In fact, she was hospitalized several times [for six days in Lions Gate facility in North Vancouver in June 1985, and after that basement fire in 1986 she went to St Paul’s hospital, Riverview…and back to St Paul’s] and felt degraded and humiliated by it. In the year before her death she wondered aloud if the attempted strangulation and drugs had left her brain damaged…her memories were confused. Ultimately realizing betrayal by police, she didn’t want to involve them anymore. And she became suspicious of the motives of others…even of family members. She lived with an undercurrent of anger, but despite all the harassment, she tried to see herself as a survivor…not a victim…trying so hard to be self-sufficient and independent. To the end she was also a compassionate and devoted sister and friend, showing interest in my life…asking how I was doing and always offering an ear.
Hi Melanie. I’ve a quick question about this quote from you:
³In the year before her death she wondered aloud if the attempted strangulation and drugs had left her brain damaged; her memories were confused.²
My question: is the reference to “drugs” from her psychiatric hospitalization, or were there allegations that I missed that she was
drugged during some of the attacks against her?
~Ken MacQueen, Maclean’s magazine (question to Melanie Hack)
I am referring to drugs injected and trauma experienced during attacks…they had left her with little or confused memories.
Coming soon… “The title of your book, Who Killed, implies that you are convinced this was a murder. Is this an accurate portrayal of your belief?”
~Ken MacQueen, Maclean’s magazine
Melanie Hack
Author of Who Killed My Sister, My Friend
Read an excerpt now
TV Shows and Clips about the Death of Cindy James