A candlelight vigil was held Tuesday night in Longueuil, Que., for a 28-year-old man who died in a fire under the balcony of an abandoned restaurant over the weekend.
Amber Raspin said she still doesn’t know for sure what her son, Tyler Campbell, was doing outside the former Messina restaurant on Saint-Charles Street West when the fire broke out.
“I’m just heartbroken. I’m not able to kiss him goodbye or anything. I had to identify him through tattoos,” she said in an interview as mourners lit candles and left pictures of her son at a makeshift memorial.
Longueuil police (SPAL) were called to the balcony just before 11 p.m. Saturday and found a man’s body. SPAL previously said the death was accidental and that an investigation was underway.
“It is terrible to learn of the death of one of our fellow citizens. It is all the more upsetting when we know that this tragedy could have been avoided,” wrote Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier in a post on Facebook on Sunday.
Raspin said she believes her son may have been kicked out of his home and tried to keep warm while out in the cold.
As she waits for more answers from the coroner’s investigation, she said she’s missing her son dearly, describing him as a “great soul” and that she will miss his hugs.
“He’d give the shirt off his back for any of his friends. It’s so sad that he died so cruelly,” she said.
“I miss my son very much, and I don’t know how I’m going to go on without him. It’s Christmas time. We’re not even going to want to celebrate Christmas. Christmas is never going to be the same.”
